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ILLINOIS 

THE  STORV  OF  THE  PRAIRIE  STATE 


Abraham  Lincoln 


ILLINOIS 

THE  STORY  OF  THE  PRAIRIE  STATE 


GRACE  HUMPHREY 


Illustrated  with  'Photograph* 


INDIANAPOLIS 

THE  BOBBS-MERRILL  COMPANY 
PUBLISHERS 


COPYRIGHT  1917 
THE  BOBBS-MERRILL  COMPANY 


FT.   WAYNE  PRINTING    CO. 
FT.  WAYNE.  IND. 


I 


ftl 


To 
MY  FATHER 

Who  gave  me,  when  a  child,  my  first  interest 
in  the  story  of  Illinois 


663826 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I    THE  GEOGRAPHY  OF  ILLINOIS 1 

II    BEFORE  THE  FRENCH  CAME 4 

III  THE  PRIEST  AND  THE  TRADER 8 

IV  LA  SALLE  AND  TONTY 16 

V  UNDER  THE  FRENCH  FLAG     .......  26 

VI  THE  BRIEF  RULE  OF  ENGLAND  ...  33 

VII    THE  AMERICAN  CONQUEST 37 

•> 

VIII    TERRITORIAL  YEARS 56 

IX    THE  WAR  OF  1812 63 

X    ILLINOIS  BECOMES  A  STATE 70 

XI    E\RLY  YEARS  OF  STATEHOOD 75 

XII    SLAVE  OR  FREE? 84 

XIII  A  DISTINGUISHED  GUEST 93 

XIV  THE  CRAZE  FOR  IMPROVEMENTS 102 

XV  THE  BLACK  HAWK  WAR     .......  110 

XVI    A  PERMANENT  CAPITAL 120 

XVII    THE  ALTON  TRAGEDY 127 

XVIII    RELIGION  MIXED  WITH  POLITICS 134 

XIX    ILLINOIS  IN  THE  MEXICAN  WAR 145 

XX    THE  CODE  OF  HONOR 149 

XXI  REAL  IMPROVEMENTS  .  157 


CONTENTS— Continued 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XXII    THE  GROWTH  OF  A  PARTY 169 

XXIII  RALLY  ROUND  THE  FLAG  ! 187 

XXIV  A  SAD  HOME-COMING 199 

XXV    THE  CITY  BY  THE  LAKE 202 

XXVI    EDUCATION,  YESTERDAY  AND  TO-DAY    ....  214 

XXVII    GREATNESS  OF  THE  STATE 223 

EPILOGUE 230 

QUESTIONS 239 

NOTES 247 

MAPS 257 

INDEX  261 


ILLINOIS 

THE  STORY  OF  THE  PRAIRIE  STATE 


ILLINOIS 

The  Story  of  the  Prairie  State 


I 


THE   GEOGRAPHY   OF   ILLINOIS 

BEFORE  you  begin  reading  the  story  of  Illinois, 
make  a  picture  in  your  mind  of  how  the  land 
lies,  with  reference  to  the  rest  of  the  United  States. 
Perhaps  you  will  need  your  geography  to  help  you. 
Very  well,  study  the  maps  carefully.  For  it  is  im- 
possible to  read  history  without  having  geography 
for  your  foundation. 

You  will  find,  then,  that  Illinois  has  a  remarka- 
ble location,  more  than  almost  any  other  state  in 
the  Union.  About  half-way  between  the  two  oceans, 
it  is  also  half-way  between  north  and  south.  Far 
enough  north  to  escape  the  enervating  southern 
heat,  far  enough  south  to  escape  the  very  severe 
northern  winter,  its  four  seasons  offer  a  variety  of 
climate. 

You  will  notice,  too,  how  many  waterways  Illi- 

1 


2  ILLINOIS 

nois  has — the  rivers  that  flow  across  it,  plus  those 
forming  its  boundary  lines,  plus  the  great  lake  on 
the  northeast.  Find  on  your  map  a  state  that  has 
no  waterways  on  its  boundary,  find  some  that  have 
fewer  than  Illinois ;  can  you  find  one  that  has  more  ? 
Notice  how  the  rivers  all  flow  southwest,  but  how 
the  land  slopes  so  gradually  that  there  are  no  rapids. 

And  see  how  nature  made  it  easy  to  reach  Illi- 
nois, joining  her  to  Virginia  and  the  south  by  the 
Ohio  River,  and  by  the  Illinois,  the  link  between  the 
lakes  and  the  Mississippi,  making  easy  connection 
with  the  French  settlements  in  Canada.  From  north 
and  east  and  south  have  come  her  people,  giving 
richness  and  variety  to  her  story.  Through  all  the 
years,  but  especially  in  the  early  days,  Illinois's  many 
waterways  have  been  an  important  factor  in  her  de- 
velopment. You  will  find  this,  over  and  over,  ,as 
you  read,  so  keep  it  well  in  mind. 

Now,  look  at  a  map  showing  mines,  and  see  where 
Illinois  stands.  No  gold  and  silver,  but  coal !  More 
than  three-fourths  of  the  state  has  strata  of  this 
black  "imprisoned  sunshine,"  made,  the  wise  men 
say,  by  forests  of  trees  and  tall  ferns  which  for 
centuries  crystallized  the  sunbeams  into  stores  of 
future  energy.  The  first  coal  found  in  the  New 
World  was  in  Illinois,  the  first  use  made  of  it  was 
in  Tonty's  forge  in  the  fort  at  Starved  Rock.1  Its 
discovery  was  second  in  importance  only  to  the  find- 


GEOGRAPHY  3 

ing  of  the  Mississippi  Valley.  Yet  those  early  seek- 
ers for  mines  were  disappointed ! 

And  over  the  coal,  from  ten  to  two  hundred  feet 
deep,  is  the  rich  soil  of  the  prairies.  Treeless,  level 
or  slightly  rolling,  extremely  fertile,  the  surface  of 
Illinois  has  made  its  contribution  to  her  greatness. 

Rich,  varied,  unusual  as  are  nature's  gifts  to  the 
state,  they  are  equaled  only  by  the  romance  of  her 
history.  No  other  state  in  the  Union  has  such  a 
background  of  color  and  adventure.  No  other  has 
given  more  to  the  story  of  the  nation.  Claimed  by 
Spain,  explored  and  occupied  by  France,  held  by 
England,  conquered  by  the  American  forces,  the 
record  is  full  of  variety  and  interest.  And  it  is  not 
a  story  merely — the  wonderful  thing  is  that  it  is  all 
true! 


II 

BEFORE  THE  FRENCH  CAME 

KNG  after  the  voyages  of  Columbus,  long  after 
Spain  and  France  and  England  and  Holland 
had  planted  their  colonies  in  America,  the  valley  of 
the  Mississippi  was  an  unknown  region.  Although 
DeSoto's  journey  to  the  "father  of  waters"  gave 
Spain  a  claim  to  the  Illinois  country,  and  though  this 
claim  was  confirmed  by  the  Pope,  the  Spanish  did 
nothing  to  explore  or  colonize  it.  Not  until  1673, 
when  the  first  of  the  French  arrived,  does  Illinois 
history  really  begin. 

But  back  of  that,  so  far  back  that  they  are  lost 
in  the  dim  past,  stretch  slender  threads  of  her  story. 
For  when  the  French  came,  they  found  here  traces 
of  a  vanished  people.  We  call  them  the  "mound 
builders,"  from  the  peculiar  mounds  they  raised. 
Were  they  forts,  or  altars,  or  sites  of  towns,  or 
cemeteries,  or  signal  stations  ?  No  one  can  answer. 

The  mounds  are  scattered  over  Illinois,  along  the 
principal  waterways.  By  the  shore  of  Lake  Mich- 
igan, along  the  bluffs  of  the  Mississippi,  near  the 
Ohio  and  Rock  and  Wabash  Rivers,  you  can  see  to- 

4 


BEFORE  THE  FRENCH  CAME    5 

day  the  remnants  of  their  building.1  And  curious 
they  are — some  as  large  as  seven  hundred  feet,  some 
made  of  soil  brought  from  miles  away,  so  numerous 
they  hint  at  an  enormous  number  of  workmen  em- 
ployed. 

The  very  little  we  know  of  these  people  we  learn 
from  the  mounds  themselves,  and  from  the  things 
found  in  them — flint  spades  and  hoes,  pottery, 
woven  cloth,  polished  stone  implements,  and  others 
of  thin,  hammered  copper,  silver,  or  iron,  all  show- 
ing a  higher  stage  of  development  than  the  Indians 
had  reached,  yet  far  behind  the  civilization  of  Cen- 
tral America.2 

But  it  is  all  so  long  ago  that  we  can  but  guess  at 
their  history,  and  only  geological  words  go  far 
enough  back  to  tell  it. 

Beside  these  traces  of  a  prehistoric  people,  the 
first  comers  found  Indians  here,  belonging  to  the 
Algonquin  family.  The  Illinois  were  five  tribes  in 
a  federation — Tamaroas,  Michigamies,  Kaskaskias, 
Cahokias  and  Peorias — like  the  famous  Five  Na- 
tions in  New  York  State,  but  not  so  well  organized.3 
The  name  of  state  and  river  comes  from  "Illini," 
as  they  called  themselves,  with  a  French  ending. 

The  Indians  wandered  over  the  prairies,  living  by 
hunting  and  fishing  and  a  most  primitive  agriculture. 
Without  knowing  the  use  of  iron,  without  domestic 
animals,  without  a  written  language,  they  were  sav- 


6  ILLINOIS 

ages,  and  fighting  was  their  principal  occupation. 
For  all  the  years  they  lived  here,  their  story  is  con- 
stant warfare — war  that  was  cruel  and  cowardly 
and  causeless,  in  which  men  and  women  and  children 
alike  perished. 

And  if  you  argue  that  the  Europeans  had  no  right 
to  take  away  the  Indians'  land,  expelling  the  red  men 
from  their  hunting  grounds,  for  their  own  selfish 
advancement,  the  answer  is  contained  in  just  those 
words.  For  the  Indians,  they  were  hunting  grounds 
and  nothing  more.  For  the  white  men  they  are  per- 
manent fields  of  grain,  sites  for  great  cities,  for 
manufacturing  and  mining,  providing  a  livelihood 
for  thousands  and  even  millions  of  people,  where 
only  a  few  hundred  Indians  could  live.  They  make 
a  higher  civilization  possible,  a  greater  blessing  to 
humanity,  a  greater  good  to  the  greatest  number. 

And  whatever  you  may  say  of  the  white  man's 
unfairness  and  injustice  to  the  red,  not  an  incident 
in  their  history  relates  such  treatment  as  one  Indian 
tribe  frequently  gave  to  another.  La  Salle  tells  of 
an  Iroquois  invasion  into  Illinois,  and  the  cruel 
death  of  hundreds  of  the  Illinois  tribes.  And  the 
French  accounts  show  that  in  fifty-seven  years  their 
fighting  men  were  reduced  from  twelve  thousand 
to  only  six  hundred  warriors.4 

Our  Indian  history  is  picture  after  picture  of 
savage  war  between  the  Illinois  federation  and  the 


Cahokia,  or  "Monk's  Mound,"  Madison  Co.,  111. 


O 


O 

T3 


§ 

CO 


BEFORE  THE  FRENCH  CAME    7 

other  tribes  living  in  the  state.  It  is  a  story  of  deso- 
lation and  extermination,  for  their  aim  was  always 
to  waste  and  destroy,  not  to  build  up.  Nearly  two 
hundred  years  passed,  after  the  coming  of  the 
French,  before  the  Indians  were  finally  banished 
from  Illinois. 


Ill 


THE  PRIEST  AND  THE  TRADER 

YOU  have  learned,  in  your  study  of  United 
States  history,  of  the  coming  of  the  French  to 
America;  how  they  based  their  claim  on  the  voyage 
of  Verrazani,  how  Cartier  started  a  first  settlement 
in  Canada,  how  Champlain  founded  Quebec  and 
made  journeys  of  discovery  to  the  south  and  west 
for  a  thousand  miles.  Their  first  knowledge  of 
Illinois  was  when  Champlain  heard  from  the  Lake 
Huron  Indians  of  a  people  living  still  farther  west, 
"a  nation  where  there  is  a  quantity  of  buffalo,"  and 
so  he  described  the  prairie  country  on  his  map.1 

The  French  settlements  reached  out  toward  the 
southwest,  up  the  St.  Lawrence  and  along  the  Great 
Lakes.  Little  by  little  they  learned  the  geography 
of  this  country.  Traders  and  priests  frequently 
sent  back  Indian  reports  of  a  great  water  beyond, 
hinting  of  an  ocean  not  far  away,  or  a  river  running 
into  some  western  sea.  It  was  to  settle  this  question 
that  the  governor  in  Montreal  sent  Marquette  and 
Joliet  on  a  trip  of  exploration,  whose  chief  object, 

8 


THE    PRIEST    AND   THE   TRADER      9 

wrote  the  Jesuit  superior-general  in  Canada,  "was 
to  know  in  what  sea  emptied  the  great  river  of  which 
the  Indians  tell  so  many  stories.'*'2  Their  aim  was 
the  very  same  that  had  sent  Columbus,  nearly  two 
centuries  before,  across  the  Atlantic — to  find  a  water 
route  to  India.  Their  journey  was,  like  his,  unsuc- 
cessful, but  they  did  find  something  fully  as  impor- 
tant. 

Born  in  Quebec,  Louis  Joliet  was  a  fur-trader. 
In  a  trip  to  the  copper  mines  near  Lake  Superior, 
he  had  won  a  reputation  for  courage  and  skill.  He 
had  the  prudence  necessary  for  a  dangerous  voyage, 
the  courage  to  fear  nothing  where  there  was  every- 
thing to  fear.  He  had  enterprise,  boldness,  deter- 
mination. He  knew  several  Indian  languages. 
There  was  not  a  man  in  Canada  better  fitted  to  un- 
dertake a  great  discovery.3 

Joliet  was  already  acquainted  with  the  good  priest, 
Jacques  Marquette,  who  for  five  years  had  been  a 
missionary  on  the  lakes.  The  Illinois  tribes  had  vis- 
ited his  mission  station  in  1670,  telling  of  the  rich- 
ness of  their  country,  making  him  eager  to  visit  it, 
to  open  the  way  for  Christianity. 

Marquette,  with  face  thin  and  careworn,  eyes  deep 
set,  dressed  in  a  rusty  black  robe,  with  crucifix  and 
rosary,  was  a  religious  enthusiast,  fired  with  zeal. 
Joliet,  broad-shouldered,  alert,  with  intelligent  face 
and  energetic  gesture,  was  a  great  contrast.  The 


10  ILLINOIS 

Jesuit's  one  thought,  the  salvation  of  souls;  the 
trader's  ambition,  to  win  glory  for  himself  and  for 
France — they  made  a  good  team,  one  supplementing 
the  other.4 

"My  companion,"  said  Marquette  to  the  Indians, 
"is  an  envoy  of  France  to  discover  new  countries, 
and  I  am  an  ambassador  from  God  to  enlighten  them 
with  the  gospel." 

The  winter  of  1672  Joliet  spent  in  the  mission 
station  at  Mackinac,  and  the  two  friends  completed 
their  plans  for  the  journey. 

"As  we  were  going  to  seek  unknown  countries," 
wrote  the  priest,  in  a  report  to  his  superior,  "we  took 
all  possible  precautions  that,  if  our  enterprise  was 
hazardous,  it  should  not  be  foolhardy;  for  this  rea- 
son we  gathered  all  possible  information  from  In- 
dians who  had  frequented  those  parts,  and  even  from 
their  accounts  traced  a  map  of  all  the  new  country, 
marking  down  the  rivers  on  which  we  were  to  sail, 
the  names  of  the  nations  and  places  through  which 
we  were  to  pass,  the  course  of  the  great  river,  and 
what  direction  we  should  take  when  we  got  to  it. 

"We  were  not  long  in  preparing  our  outfit,  al- 
though we  were  embarking  on  a  voyage  the  duration 
of  which  we  could  not  foresee.  Indian  corn,  with 
some  dried  meat,  was  our  whole  stock  of  provisions. 
With  this  we  set  out  in  two  bark  canoes,  M.  Jollyet, 
myself,  and  five  men,  firmly  resolved  to  do  all  and 
suffer  all  for  so  glorious  an  enterprise."5 


THE    PRIEST    AND   THE   TRADER     11 

Starting  in  May,  crossing  the  narrow  portage 
from  the  Fox  River,  they  paddled  down  the  Wiscon- 
sin and  "safely  entered  the  Mississippi  on  the  17th 
of  June,  with  a  joy  that  I  can  not  express."  Hoist- 
ing the  sails  on  their  canoes,  they  floated  down  the 
"father  of  waters,"  between  the  "broad  plains  of 
Illinois  and  Iowa,  all  garlanded  with  majestic  for- 
ests and  chequered  with  illimitable  prairies  and 
island  groves." 

"At  last,  on  the  25th  of  June,  we  perceived  foot- 
prints of  men  by  the  water-side,  and  a  beaten  path 
entering  a  beautiful  prairie.  .  .  .  We  stopped  to 
examine  it,  and  concluding  that  it  was  a  path  lead- 
ing to  some  Indian  village,  we  resolved  to  go  and 
reconnoitre.  .  .  .  M.  Jollyet  and  I  ...  fol- 
lowed the  little  path  in  silence,  and  having  advanced 
about  two  leagues,  we  discovered  a  village  on  the 
banks  of  the  river.  .  .  .  Then,  indeed,  we  recom- 
mended ourselves  to  God,  with  all  our  hearts;  and, 
having  implored  His  help,  we  passed  on  undiscov- 
ered, and  came  so  near  that  we  even  heard  the 
Indians  talking.  We  then  deemed  it  time  to  an- 
nounce ourselves,  as  we  did  by  a  cry.  .  .  .  The 
Indians  rushed  out  of  their  cabins,  and  having 
probably  recognized  us  as  French,  especially  seeing 
a  black  gown,  .  .  .  they  deputed  four  old  men 
to  come  and  speak  with  us.  ...  I  ...  asked 
them  who  they  were ;  they  answered  that  they  were 
Ilini,  and,  in  token  of  peace,  they  presented  their 
pipes  to  smoke." 


12  ILLINOIS 

Marquette's  report  goes  on  to  tell  of  their  enter- 
tainment in  that  village,  and  how  the  chief 

"begged  us,  on  behalf  of  his  whole  nation,  not  to 
proceed  further,  on  account  of  the  great  dangers  to 
which  we  exposed  ourselves. 

"I  replied  that  I  did  not  fear  death/  and  that  I 
esteemed  no  happiness  greater  than  that  of  losing 
my  life  for  the  glory  of  Him  who  made  all.  But 
this  those  poor  people  could  not  understand." 

i 

Before  they  left  the  Indians 

"made  us  a  present,  an  all-mysterious  calumet,  .  .  . 
than  which  there  is  nothing  among  them  more  mys- 
terious or  more  esteemed.  Men  do  not  pay  to  the 
crowns  and  sceptres  of  kings  the  honor  they  pay  to 
it ;  it  seems  to  be  the  god  of  peace  and  war.  .  .  . 
Carry  it  about  you  and  show  it,  and  you  can  march 
fearlessly  amid  enemies.  .  .  .  Hence  the  Ilinois 
gave  me  one,  to  serve  as  my  safeguard  amid  all  the 
nations  that  I  had  to  pass  on  my  voyage." 

South  they  went,  past  the  painted  bird  of  Piasa, 
past  the  dangerous  sweep  of  the  Missouri,  where  it 
joins  its  yellow  stream  to  the  Mississippi,  the  peace 
pipe  about  Marquette's  neck  probably  giving  them 
more  protection  than  his  cross.  And,  after  a  month's 
journey  down  the  Mississippi,  satisfied  from  Indian 
accounts  and  their  own  observations  that  it  flowed 
into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  fearing  they  might 


THE  PRIEST  AND  THE  TRADER  13 

fall  into  the  hands  of  the  Spaniards  if  they  reached 
the  sea,  they  decided  to  return. 

The  priest  became  ill  and  lay  helpless  in  the  bot- 
tom of  the  canoe  for  weeks,  while  the  little  party 
slowly  made  their  way  against  the  current.  Of  spe- 
cial interest  is  their  route  north,  for  they  left  the 
Mississippi  and  went  up  the  quiet  Illinois,  the  In- 
dians telling  them  this  was  a  shorter  route  and 
would  bring  them  on  their  way  with  little  trouble. 

"We  had  seen  nothing  like  this  river,"  writes 
Marquette,  "for  the  fertility  of  the  land,  its  prairies, 
woods,  wild  cattle,  stag,  deer,  .  .  .  ducks,  par- 
rots, and  even  beaver;  its  many  lakes  and  rivers." 

By  way  of  Chicago  and  Lake  Michigan,  they  re- 
turned to  Green  Bay  in  September,  without  losing 
a  man  or  receiving  any  hurt  or  injury  whatever. 
Joliet,  returning  to  Canada  the  next  spring,  was 
within  sight  of  Montreal  when  his  canoe  was  upset 
in  the  rapids,  and  his  carefully  drawn  map  and  full 
report,  telling  all  that  was  curious  and  interesting  in 
their  voyage,  was  lost.  Marquette  thus  becomes  the 
historian  of  the  French  discovery  of  the  Mississippi, 
and  the  report  he  wrote  from  the  mission  station  in 
Wisconsin  is  Illinois's  first  historic  document.  He 
was  more  interested  in  converting  the  savages  than 
in  explorations,  so  that  his  journal  is  brief,  but  cor- 
rect and  reliable.8 


14  ILLINOIS 

The  French  were  astonished  at  the  magnitude  of 
their  discoveries — the  soil  and  its  products,  the  buf- 
falo, the  beauty  of  the  country.  And  we  are  equally 
astonished  at  this  journey — a  four  months'  trip  in 
frail  canoes,  covering  twenty-five  hundred  miles, 
discovering  the  greatest  valley  in  the  world. 

Marquette  remained  at  the  Green  Bay  mission 
for  a  year,  regaining  his  strength  after  so  many 
hardships,  and  then  started  south,  to  keep  his  prom- 
ise and  establish  a  mission  among  the  Illinois  tribes. 
His  party  arrived  at  the  site  of  Chicago  early  in 
December,  describing  it  as  "a  snow-covered  prairie 
and  an  ice-bound  river."7  The  priest  being  ill  again, 
they  determined  to  spend  the  winter  there,  and  built 
a  rude  hut.  Though  it  was  cold  and  bleak,  game 
was  plentiful,  and  some  friendly  Indians  were  en- 
camped near  by. 

By  the  last  of  March  Marquette  was  able  to  travel 
to  Kaskaskia,  where  he  was  received  as  an  angel 
from  Heaven.  Five  hundred  chiefs  and  old  men  and 
fifteen  hundred  youths  came  to  the  great  council 
where  he  said  mass  and  took  possession  of  the  land 
in  the  name  of  Christ.  He  named  the  mission  "the 
Immaculate  Conception  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,"  re- 
deeming his  vow  at  the  beginning  of  his  voyage 
with  Joliet.  The  mission  kept  this  name,  even  when 
the  village  was  moved  south  nearly  to  the  mouth 
of  the  Kaskaskia  River.  And  the  little  church  and 


THE  PRIEST  AND  THE  TRADER  15 

parish  in  New  Kaskaskia  are  to-day  called  Immacu- 
late Conception.8 

Very  ill,  Marquette  had  to  leave  in  a  few  months, 
and  died  on  the  way  to  Canada.  His  was  a  lovely 
character,  and  his  self-sacrifice  endeared  him  to 
every  one.  He  gave  himself  up  entirely  to  the  most 
severe  and  dangerous  service,  not  with  complaints, 
but  with  the  greatest  pleasure.  Among  all  the  de- 
vout missionaries  he  has  no  equal  for  piety,  for  holi- 
ness of  purpose,  for  the  great  tasks  he  performed. 

If  you  would  know  more  about  him,  read  his  life, 
by  Thwaites,  or  chapter  five  in  Parkman's  Discov- 
ery of  the  Great  West.  Read  Marquette's  own  re- 
ports, which  you  will  find  translated  in  Breese's 
Early  History  of  Illinois,  and  in  Shea's  Discovery 
and  Exploration  of  the  Mississippi  Valley;  part  of 
Shea's  translation  is  reprinted  in  the  first  volume 
of  the  collections  of  the  Illinois  State  Historical 
Library.  You  will  like  especially  Marquette's  de- 
scription of  the  buffalo,  of  their  stay  in  the  Illinois 
village,  and  his  unfinished  letter  telling  of  his  last 
visit  to  these  tribes,  the  end  of  the  story  written 
by  one  of  the  French  priests  who  accompanied  him. 


IV 

LA  SALLE  AND  TONTY 

THE  news  of  this  discovery  set  all  Canada  on 
fire,  and  France,  too,  caught  the  fever.  Most 
important  of  the  men  suddenly  enthusiastic  for 
western  enterprise  was  Robert  Cavelier,  Sieur  de  la 
Salle.  The  son  of  wealthy  Rouen  parents,  he  had 
joined  a  brother  in  Montreal  and  become  a  fur- 
trader.  He  was  the  first  to  see  how  important  Mar- 
quette's  discovery  was,  and  to  make  the  French  gov- 
ernment realize  it  and  give  him  authority  to  carry 
out  his  plan.  This  was  no  less  than  to  extend  the 
French  empire  in  America  into  the  southwest,  to 
explore  the  Mississippi,  open  the  country  to  French 
trade,  and  make  the  river  a  highway  for  the  world's 
commerce.1 

Something  of  La  Salle's  difficulties  you  already 
know :  how  the  king  gave  him  a  title,  a  grant  of  land, 
command  of  the  forts  which  he  might  erect,  but 
no  funds  at  all ;  how,  when  Fort  Frontenac  was  fin- 
ished, he  built  a  vessel  of  forty  tons,  with  great 
white  sails  and  the  figurehead  of  a  griffin ;  how  from 
his  trading-post  at  Mackinac  he  sent  the  Griffin  east 

16 


LA    SALLE   AND   TONTY  17 

across  Lake  Ontario,  with  a  rich  cargo  of  furs;  and 
how  then  his  little  party  started  south. 

Thirty  men  and  three  priests — it  was  certainly 
not  a  military  expedition !  The  religious  leader  was 
the  ambitious  Father  Hennepin,  more  explorer  than 
priest.  The  lieutenant  was  Henri  de  Tonty,  an 
Italian,  who  had  lost  one  hand  in  a  battle  in  Sicily, 
and  was  called  by  the  Indians  "the  man  with  the 
iron  hand."  They  might  well  have  named  the  leader, 
La  Salle,  him  of  the  iron  will ;  for  his  courage  was 
never  daunted,  no  matter  what  disasters  and  mis- 
fortunes came  to  him.  Only  such  a  character  could 
have  made  his  achievements  possible. 

Without  waiting  for  news  of  the  boat's  safe  ar- 
rival, they  went  up  the  St.  Joe,  crossed  the  portage, 
down  the  Kankakee  and  into  Illinois.  It  was  now 
December,  and  their  provisions  were  very  low. 
Reaching  an  Indian  village  near  Ottawa,  they  were 
disheartened  to  find  it  deserted,  the  red  men  away 
on  their  winter  hunt.  But  they  did  find  some  corn, 
stored  for  seed  in  the  spring,  and  took  what  they 
needed. 

Farther  down  the  river  they  overtook  the  Illinois 
tribes,  paid  for  the  corn  with  axes,  and  received 
permission  to  build  a  fort,  promising  help  against 
the  Iroquois.  The  fort  was  named  Crevecoeur,  in 
English  "broken  heart."  And  many  writers  have 
thought  La  Salle  chose  it  because  of  his  disappoint- 


18  ILLINOIS 

ments  and  difficulties.  Indeed,  Father  Hennepin 
says : 

"We  named  it  the  fort  of  Crevecoeur,  because 
of  the  desertion  of  our  men,  and  the  other  difficulties 
we  labored  under  had  almost  broke  our  hearts."2 

And  certainly  La  Salle  had  every  reason  to  be 
heavy-hearted.  For  his  little  group  was  far  in  ad- 
vance of  any  of  the  French  settlements;  the  Indians 
were  at  best  uncertain  friends;  two  of  his  carpen- 
ters had  deserted;  his  men  threatened  to  mutiny, 
and  had  tried  to  poison  him;  most  of  all,  if  the 
Griffin  were  really  lost,  it  meant  financial  ruin. 

Yet,  if  La  Salle  were  utterly  discouraged  and 
heart-broken,  would  he  have  told  his  men?  What 
they  needed  was  encouragement.  Crevecceur  may 
sound  romantic,  but  there  must  be  some  explana- 
tion; and  recent  study  has  perhaps  supplied  it.  A 
few  years  before,  the  army  of  Louis  XIV  had  cap- 
tured a  fort  in  the  Netherlands  called  Crevecceur, 
and  the  name  may  have  been  a  compliment  to  the 
king.  This  is  the  more  credible,  since  we  know  now 
that  Tonty,  who  was  for  years  a  French  soldier, 
had  taken  part  in  the  capture  of  the  Dutch  fort.3 

The  American  Crevecceur  was  nearly  finished, 
as  was  the  boat  they  were  building,  when  La  Salle 
divided  his  men.  Father  Hennepin,  who  could, 


LA    SALLE   AND    TONTY  19 

thought  the  leader,  do  more  good  by  exploring  than 
by  preaching,  was  sent  down  the  Illinois  to  its 
mouth,  and  then  up  the  Mississippi,  in  the  hope  that 
it  led  west  to  India.  The  whole  country  seemed 
so  fine  and  pleasant  that  the  priest  says  one  might 
justly  call  it  "the  delight  of  America." 

At  the  falls  of  St.  Anthony  he  and  his  two  men 
were  taken  prisoners  by  the  Sioux  Indians,  detained 
several  months,  and  finally  reached  Canada.  Like 
Marquette,  Hennepin  wrote  about  his  adventures, 
but  some  of  his  accounts  are  not  altogether  reliable, 
though  they  reached  over  twenty  editions,  in  six 
languages.  "He  writes  of  what  he  saw  in  places 
where  he  never  was,"  says  a  contemporary;  "the 
name  of  honor  they  gave  him  there  (in  Canada) 
is  the  great  liar."* 

The  second  division  was  to  return  to  Canada, 

"All  the  wood  had  been  prepared  to  finish  the  bark, 
but  we  had  neither  rigging  nor  sails  nor  iron 
enough,"  writes  Tonty.  "La  Salle  determined  in 
this  extremity  not  to  wait  longer,  but  to  proceed  on 
foot  to  Fort  Frontenac,  five  hundred  leagues  away, 
for  the  necessary  equipment.  The  ground  was  still 
covered  with  snow.  His  outfit  must  contain  a  blan- 
ket, a  kettle,  an  axe,  a  gun,  powder  and  lead  and 
dressed  skins  for  shoes  (our  French  shoes  being  of 
no  use  in  these  western  countries).  He  must  push 
through  bushes,  walk  in  marshes  and  melting  snow, 


20  ILLINOIS 

sometimes  waist  high  for  whole  days,  sometime 
even  with  nothing  to  eat,  because  he  must  needs  d< 
pend  for  subsistence  on  what  he  might  shoot  an 
drink  only  the  water  he  might  find  on  the  wa; 
Besides  this  he  was  constantly  exposed  to  four  c 
five  Indian  nations  making  war  on  each  other." 

And  later  Tonty  wrote,  from  his  own  experience 

"There  is  no  pleasure  in  meeting  warriors  o 
one's  road,  especially  when  they  have  been  unsu< 
cessful."5 

In  spite  of  the  severe  weather,  in  spite  of  ston 
and  famine  and  sickness,  they  arrived  safely.  Th 
Griffin  had  not  been  heard  from.  La  Salle  straigh 
ened  out  his  financial  affairs,  got  a  new  outfit  tc 
gether,  enlisted  twenty-five  men,  and  again  set  01 
for  Illinois. 

Meantime  Tonty,  left  at  Crevecoeur  with  "thre 
honest  men  and  a  dozen  plotting  knaves,"  was  ha-\ 
ing  serious  troubles.  Ten  of  his  followers  desertec 
looted  the  magazine,  took  what  food  they  coul 
carry,  and  cast  the  rest  into  the  river.  Thrown  o 
the  charity  of  the  Indians,  Tonty's  little  party  too 
refuge  in  their  village  for  six  months.  Here  th 
Illinois  Indians  were  attacked  by  their  old  enenr 
the  Iroquois.  The  French  tried  their  best  to  mat; 
a  truce  between  them,  the  Illinois  tribes  retreate 


THE 

OF  THE 
UNIVERSITY  OF  ILUMC'S 


LA    SALLE    AND    TONTY  21 

to  the  south,  and  Tonty,  forced  to  leave,  returned 
to  Mackinac. 

So  when  La  Salle  arrived  he  found  the  fort  ab- 
solutely deserted.  The  savage  Iroquois,  the  mo- 
ment the  French  had  gone,  devastated  the  village, 
burned  the  lodges,  and  left  the  ground  strewn  with 
corpses  of  women  and  children.  La  Salle  searched 
to  see  if  any  Frenchmen  were  there,  turning  over 
body  after  body,  relieved  to  find  no  trace  of  them.6 

Hoping  to  find  them  prisoners,  he  followed  the 
Indians  down  the  Illinois  River  to  the  Mississippi, 
searching  for  loyal  Tonty.  There  his  men  proposed 
going  on  down  the  great  fiver,  but  he  must  find 
his  friends  first ;  so  they  went  north  again,  and  after 
fourteen  months'  separation  La  Salle  met  his  lieu- 
tenant. 

"Any  one  else  except  him,"  wrote  one  of  the 
priests,  "would  have  abandoned  the  enterprise,  but 
he,  with  a  firmness  and  constancy  which  never  had 
its  equal,  was  more  resolved  than  ever  to  push  for- 
ward his  work."7 

The  two  friends  had  hardly  greeted  each  other  be- 
fore they  were  planning  another  expedition ;  and  in 
1682  La  Salle  and  Tonty  finally  explored  the  Mis- 
sissippi clear  to  the  sea.  Many  were  their  adven- 
tures on  the  way,  many  the  strange  tribes  they  met. 
Holding  up  the  calumet,  the  Italian  approached  one 


22  ILLINOIS 

group,  who  joined  their  hands  in  token  of  friend- 
ship. 

"But  I,  who  had  but  one  hand,  could  only  tell 
my  men  do  the  same  in  response." 

At  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi,  with  imposing 
ceremony,  they  erected  a  column  and  a  cross,  with 
the  arms  of  France,  and  took  possession  of  the 
country,  calling  it  Louisiana.  This  valley  was  an 
empire  far  larger  than  France  had  in  Europe,  and 
extended  her  American  boundary  from  Niagara  to 
the  gulf.  La  Salle  saw  at  once  its  great  resources 
and  dreamed  of  its  future.  He  conceived  the  idea 
of  a  New  France,  controlling  the  St.  Lawrence,  the 
chain  of  lakes  and  the  Mississippi  Valley.  He 
planned  a  chain  of  military  stations,  which  should 
be  centers  for  trade  and  colonizing,  and  should  hem 
the  English  in  along  the  Atlantic  coast.  He  himself 
built  six  of  these  posts,  and  his  far-seeing  plan  be- 
came the  policy  of  the  French  kings,  till  there  were 
sixty  forts  whose  possession  determined  the  history 
of  America.8 

One  of  these  posts,  said  La  Salle,  must  be  in  the 
Illinois  country,  to  prevent  Iroquois  raids.  On  their 
way  north  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  Tonty  was 
left  to  finish  fortifying  the  great  rock  on  the  Illi- 
nois River,  which  nature  had  begun.  Impregnable 
on  three  sides,  the  fourth  could  be  approached  only 


LA    SALLE   AND    TONTY  23 

by  a  narrow  winding  path.  Here  the  French  made 
additional  palisades,  felling  trees  and  dragging  them 
up  the  steep  path  with  incredible  labor.  Almost  like 
an  eagle's  nest,  the  fort  was  built  on  the  summit  and 
named  St.  Louis  du  Rocher.9 

In  the  valley  far  below  gathered  the  Indians, 
nearly  fourteen  thousand  of  them.  La  Salle's  plan 
was  to  protect  them,  teach  them  agriculture  and 
Christianity,  and  sell  them  French  goods  in  ex- 
change for  their  furs.  As  governor  of  the  country, 
Tonty  held  this  vast  group  together,  kept  his  garri- 
son busy  and  contented,  and  exerted  unbounded  in- 
fluence over  the  Indians. 

Priests,  traders,  even  the  Illinois  tribes,  when  the 
Iroquois  appeared,  found  the  fort  a  place  of  refuge 
in  the  wilderness.  But  after  twenty  years  a  jealous 
governor  in  Canada  took  away  Tonty's  position,  the 
great  rock  became  a  trading-post,  and  later  was 
burned  by  the  Indians.  The  record  of  the  "Jesuit 
Relations"  says  that  Tonty  died  of  yellow  fever,  at 
Biloxi,  in  1704.10  But  the  Indian  legend  is  that  in 
the  summer  of  1718  Tonty's  canoe  once  more  ar- 
rived at  Fort  St.  Louis,  on  a  sad  errand,  and  here 
died  the  brave  Italian  of  the  iron  hand  and  loyal 
heart.11 

And  there  is  another  tradition  of  this  great  rock, 
telling  the  story  of  a  group  of  Illinois  Indians  who 
took  refuge  here,  hoping  to  escape  the  general 


24  ILLINOIS 

slaughter  that  followed  Pontiac's  death.  The  sav- 
age enemy  they  easily  kept  at  bay,  but  hunger  and 
thirst  defeated  them.  With  true  Indian  fortitude 
they  lay  down  to  die,  and  for  years  afterward  their 
bones  whitened  the  summit  of  the  rock.  And  in 
memory  of  this  tragedy  the  site  of  Tonty's  fort  is 
called,  not  St.  Louis,  but  Starved  Rock. 

You  remember  the  sad  ending  of  La  Salle's  ad- 
ventures? How  he  sailed  from  France  to  form  a 
settlement  at  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi,  that  Illi- 
nois might  have  a  direct  connection  with  the  West 
Indies  and  Europe;  how  one  ship  went  down  in  a 
storm,  and  one  was  captured  by  the  Spanish;  how 
by  accident  they  went  too  far  west  and  landed  in 
Texas ;  and  how  the  dauntless  leader,  starting  over- 
land to  get  help  in  Illinois  or  Canada,  was  murdered 
by  one  of  his  jealous  men? 

La  Salle  was  a  busy,  restless  spirit,  a  man  of  in- 
domitable energy,  untiring  in  his  efforts  to  promote 
the  interests  of  France.  He  was  not  a  trader  nor 
a  priest,  but  an  empire  builder,  seeing  beyond  his 
time  the  future  of  a  continent.  He  was,  writes 
Tonty,  "one  of  the  greatest  men  of  the  age,  of 
wonderful  ability,  and  capable  of  accomplishing  any 
enterprise."12 

Would  you  like  to  read  more  of  these  two 
friends?  Parkman's  Discovery  of  the  Great  West 


LA    SALLE   AND    TONTY  25 

tells  their  story,  much  of  it  translated  from  old 
French  reports,  and  written  in  a  most  fascinating 
style.  And  you  will  find,  in  the  first  volume  of  the 
Illinois  Historical  Collections,  Hennepin's  narrative 
in  English,  and  a  memoir  of  Tonty,  quaintly  told 
and  full  of  details. 

You'd  rather  have  a  real  story?  Then  read  the 
Man  with  the'  Iron  Hand,  by  Parish,  and  Gather- 
wood's  Story  of  Tonty,  where  La  Salle  and  his  little 
niece,  Father  Hennepin  and  Tonty  are  the  charac- 
ters at  Fort  Frontenac  and  Starved  Rock. 


UNDER  THE  FRENCH  FLAG 

UNLIKE  most  European  colonies,  which  began 
with  forts  and  palisades,  the  French  frontier 
settlements  were  first  a  group  of  Indian  lodges,  then 
missionary  stations  with  chapels,  then  trading-posts 
with  store  houses,  and  finally  isolated  villages.  Vag- 
abond wanderers,  voyageurs,  as  the  skilled  river 
boatmen  were  called,  and  the  forest  outlaws,  cou- 
reurs  de  bois,  mingling  with  soldiers,  priests  and 
traders,  formed  a  picturesque  population.  Little  by 
little  farmers  came,  and  permanent  settlements 
grew  up. 

Hunting  and  fishing  supplied  a  living,  the  soil 
was  very  fertile,  the  climate  mild  and  healthful. 
Best  of  all,  the  French  were  always  on  friendly 
terms  with  the  Indians.  In  comparison  with  the 
English  colonies,  the  early  settlements  in  Illinois  had 
few  difficulties.  There  were  no  taxes  to  be  paid, 
no  government  to  be  supported,  the  priests  were  the 
leaders  of  the  people. 

But  France  was  having  constant  war  in  Europe 
and  could  not  send  supplies  or  men  to  this  distant 

26 


UNDER    THE    FRENCH    FLAG         27 

province.  So  in  1712  the  king  granted  to  one  of 
his  counselors,  Antoine  Crozat,  the  commerce  of 
Louisiana,  which  included  Illinois.  He  was  to 
search  for  mines,  paying  to  the  crown  a  fifth  of  the 
gold  and  silver  and  pearls  he  found,  and  a  tenth 
of  any  other  minerals.1  For  the  French,  like  Eng- 
lishmen and  Spaniards,  believed  the  country  to  be 
fabulously  rich. 

For  four  years  Crozat's  men  dug  and  bored  and 
prospected,  finding  only  the  lead  mines  in  Missouri, 
opposite  Kaskaskia.  Clearly  gold  and  silver  were 
not  here,  and  the  grant  was  soon  surrendered  to 
the  king. 

Louisiana  was  then  given  to  the  Company  of  the 
West,  part  of  John  Law's  marvelous  credit  scheme 
to  rebuild  the  finances  of  France.2  At  the  mouth 
of  the  Mississippi  they  founded  the  city  of  New 
Orleans.  To  protect  the  Illinois  settlements  they 
built  Fort  Chartres,  a  few  miles  above  Kaskaskia. 

Where  the  government's  notes  had  been  worth 
only  twenty-two  per  cent.,  Law's  shares  were  soon 
selling  for  thirteen  hundred,  for  all  France  went 
crazy  over  his  bank.  The  great  fortunes  made  were 
quickly  lost,  .for  the  scheme  was  a  bubble  that  burst. 
The  company  was  wrecked,  Louisiana  reverted  to 
the  crown,  and  the  king  made  a  new  government 
for  this  province,  separate  from  Canada,  with  Illi- 
nois one  of  its  districts.  For  the  first  time  men 


28  ILLINOIS 

could  secure  titles  to  the  lands  they  had  held  only 
at  the  sufferance  of  the  Indians.3 

From  Law's  company  the  Illinois  settlements  re- 
ceived a  new  impulse.  New  Orleans  now  offered 
a  market  for  all  their  surplus  products.  Going  in 
convoys  for  safety,  the  boats  carried  flour,  buffalo 
meat  and  venison,  lead  from  the  mines,  furs  and 
hides,  and  brought  back  in  exchange  rice,  sugar,  and 
cloth  from  Europe. 

From  1740  to  1750  was  the  most  prosperous  dec- 
ade, with  perhaps  a  thousand  people  living  in  the 
five  French  villages.  Each  settlement  had  a  com- 
mon where  all  the  cattle  and  horses  were  pastured, 
and  each  family  kept  up  its  part  of  the  fencing. 
The  houses  were  one  story  high,  made  of  large  tim- 
bers, the  cracks  filled  up  with  mortar,  and  white- 
washed inside  and  out.  They  were  an, honest,  de- 
vout people,  and  their  story  has  few  exciting  events. 
So  far  from  Europe,  so  isolated  from  other  settle- 
ments in  America,  there  is  little  to  tell  save  as  Euro- 
pean history  touches  Illinois. 

Do  you  remember  how  James  II,  driven  from  his 
English  throne  in  1688,  fled  to  France,  and  Louis 
XIV  took  up  arms  in  his  defense,  and  began  a  se- 
ries of  wars  between  the  two  countries?  They  are 
named  for  the  English  rulers,  William,  Anne,  and 
George.  You  have  studied  in  United  States  history 
the  campaigns  in  Canada  and  along  the  Atlantic 


UNDER    THE    FRENCH    FLAG        29 

coast.  Both  nations  recognized  that  distant  posses- 
sions would  be  easy  points  of  attack.  The  French 
realized  then,  if  not  before,  the  importance  of  their 
missions  in  the  west,  builded  better  than  the  priests 
knew,  holding  a  long  frontier  for  France,  keeping 
the  Indians  as  their  allies. 

"God  alone  could  have  saved  Canada  this  year," 
wrote  one  governor-general.  "But  for  the  missions 
at  the  west,  Illinois  would  have  been  abandoned,  the 
fort  of  Mackinaw  would  have  been  lost,  and  a  gen- 
eral rising  among  the  natives,  have  completed  the 
ruin  of  New  France."4  And  one  of  his  successors, 
years  later,  wrote  to  Paris:  "The  little  colony  of 
Illinois  ought  not  to  be  left  to  perish.  The  king 
must  sacrifice  for  its  support.  The  principal  ad- 
vantage of  the  country  is  its  extreme  productiveness, 
and  its  connection  with  Canada  and  Louisiana  must 
be  maintained."5 

But  war  or  peace  in  Europe  did  not  touch  Illinois 
until  the  fourth  contest  began.  For  by  1750  Illinois 
was  no  longer  isolated.  Ever  east  had  gone  the  line 
of  French  forts — Niagara,  Crown  Point  and  Ticon- 
deroga,  Vincennes,  Massac  on  the  Ohio,  Duquesne, 
until  they  reached  the  eastern  part  of  the  Ohio  Val- 
ley just  as  the  English  were  crossing  the  Alleghanies 
from  the  Atlantic  slope.  The  French  gave  warn- 
ing that  their  territory  was  being  taken.  The  Ohio 
Company  sent  George  Washington  to  warn  the 


30  ILLINOIS 

French  off  English  ground;  and  with  his  building 
and  surrender  of  Fort  Necessity  the  war  was  on. 

In  preparation  for  this  conflict  the  French  rebuilt 
Fort  Chartres,  in  Illinois,  spending  nearly  a  million 
dollars  on  a  great  stone  fortification  which  they 
proudly  called  "the  Gibraltar  of  the  west."6  Indeed, 
an  English  engineer  described  it  as  "the  most  com- 
modious and  best  built  fort  in  North  America." 
But  it  saw  no  fighting;  the  battles  were  all  in  Can- 
ada, south  of  the  lakes,  and  at  the  most  eastern  of 
the  frontier  posts. 

Remember,  however,  that  Illinois  was  French  and 
not  English,  and  that  soldiers  from  Fort  Chartres 
were  fighting,  not  with  Braddock  and  Wolfe  and 
Washington,  but  under  French  generals.  French 
troops  from  Illinois  watched  "Monsieur  de  Wach- 
enston"  capitulate  at  Fort  Necessity,  and  march  back 
to  Virginia  on  the  fourth  of  July.  They  helped  in 
the  clever  ambush  that  resulted  in  Braddock' s  de- 
feat. They  captured  a  fort  in  Pennsylvania.  They 
sent  men  and  provisions  to  Duquesne.  Many  of 
them  were  taken  prisoners  at  Fort  Niagara.  They 
were  under  Montcalm  at  Quebec,  when  both  gener- 
als lost  their  lives  in  the  battle  that  decided  the  fu- 
ture of  a  continent.7 

And  when  peace  was  declared,  in  1763,  Canada 
and  Louisiana  east  of  the  Mississippi  were  surren- 
dered to  the  English.  For  ninety  years  the  French 


UNDER   THE   FRENCH    FLAG        31 

had  labored  in  Illinois,  with  never  a  lack  of  volun- 
teers, when  there  fell  some  trader,  explorer,  or  sol- 
dier of  the  cross.  Yet  they  left  no  permanent  im- 
press on  the  country. 

"Our  life  is  passed,"  said  a  priest,  describing  his 
duties,  "in  rambling  through  thick  woods,  in  climb- 
ing over  hills,  in  paddling  the  canoe  across  lakes  and 
rivers,  to  catch  a  poor  savage  who  flies  from  us, 
and  whom  we  can  neither  tame  by  teachings  nor 
caresses."8  And  years  later  another  sorrowfully 
summed  up  his  labors:  "I  can  not  say  that  my 
little  efforts  produced  fruit.  With  regard  to  these 
nations,  perhaps  some  one  by  a  secret  effort  of  grace 
has  profited;  this  God  only  knows."9 

All  their  years  of  sacrifice  and  toil  came  to 
naught,  for  the  Indians  never  accepted  Christianity. 
The  Jesuits  did,  it  is  true,  accumulate  some  prop- 
erty, for  when  they  were  expelled  from  France  and 
French  possessions,  the  commandant  at  Fort  Char- 
tres  seized  their  mills  for  corn  and  planks,  their 
stone  church  and  chapel,  a  large  stone  house,  a  brew- 
ery, a  farm  of  two  hundred  acres,  and  great  herds 
of  cattle  and  horses. 

Like  their  missionaries,  the  French  settlers  ac- 
complished little  of  value.  To-day  the  fact  of  their 
occupancy  of  Illinois  is  scarcely  more  than  a  dream. 
For  they  were  not  successful  colonizers  and  home 
builders,  forming  self-governing  communities.  Be- 


32  ILLINOIS 

neath  the  waters  of  the  Mississippi  their  villages 
disappeared,  or  through  the  gradual  desertion  of 
their  people.  They  were  a  wedge  in  the  wilderness, 
a  foundation  for  the  Americans.  But  all  that  France 
did  in  Illinois  is  past  history;  there  is  no  present. 

Old  Kaskaskia,  by  Catherwood,  is  an  interesting 
story  of  this  French  settlement.  And  you  will  want 
to  read  the  melancholy  tale  of  the  heroic  D'Arta- 
guette,  commandant  at  Fort  Chartres  in  the  seven- 
teen thirties  (this  you  will  find  in  the  Historical 
Library  volume  for  1905). 


VI 


THE  BRIEF  RULE  OF  ENGLAND 

IN  succeeding  to  power  in  1763  England  soon 
discovered  that  she  had  not  succeeded  to  the 
French  influence  over  the  Indians.  The  French  had 
something  which  adapted  them  peculiarly  to  the  hab- 
its and  feelings  of  the  red  men,  something  which  the 
English  did  not  have  and  never  learned. 

"When  the  French  came  hither,  they  came  and 
kissed  us,"  said  an  old  chief;  "they  called  us  chil- 
dren, and  we  found  them  fathers ;  we  lived  like  chil- 
dren in  the  same  lodge." 

Not  so  the  English.  When  they  obtained  the 
country  dissatisfaction  showed  immediately  among 
the  western  tribes.  "The  conduct  of  the  French 
never  gave  rise  to  suspicion,"  commented  Pontiac, 
"the  conduct  of  the  English  never  gave  rest  to  it." 
So  he  planned  to  drive  the  "dogs  in  red  clothes" 
into  the  sea,  by  uniting  the  tribes  along  the  whole 
frontier,  more  than  a  thousand  miles,  into  a  con- 
federacy.1 

You  remember  how  the  Indians  determined  to 

33 


34  ILLINOIS 

"shut  up  the  way/'  by  attacking  all  the  British  posts 
on  the  same  day;  and  how,  by  a  ball  game  and  other 
tricks,  they  did  win  eleven  forts,  taking  the  English 
wholly  by  surprise?  Their  plan  seemed  near  suc- 
cess when  word  came  to  Detroit  that  peace  was 
made  between  French  and  English,  and  the  red  men 
would  be  given  no  more  ammunition. 

"Our  great  father,"  said  the  French  commandant 
at  Fort  Chartres,  "can  do  no  more  for  his  red  chil- 
dren; he  is  beyond  the  sea  and  can  not  hear  their 
voices;  you  must  make  peace  with  the  English."2 

Gradually  Pontiac's  eighteen  tribes  deserted,  he 
abandoned  Detroit  and  went  to  Illinois,  where  he 
was  murdered  by  a  vagabond  Indian,  bribed  with  a 
barrel  of  whisky.  But  for  two  years  he  was  vir- 
tually the  ruler  in  the  western  country,  and  England 
made  several  vain  attempts  to  take  possession  of 
Illinois.  Her  officers  were  waylaid,  taken  prisoner, 
or  killed;  the  Indians  continued  to  "shut  up  the 
way." 

Not  until  October,  1765,  did  a  company  of  kilted 
Highlanders  arrive  at  Fort  Chartres.  The  twenty- 
one  French  soldiers  formally  surrendered  the  "Gi- 
braltar of  the  west."  The  white  flag  of  France, 
with  the  three  lilies,  came  down,  and  in  its  place 
was  the  red  cross  of  St.  George. 

Illinois  was  now  an  English  colony,  part  of  the 


THE   BRIEF    RULE   OF   ENGLAND    35 

province  of  Quebec,  governed  by  George  III.  Un- 
der orders  from  General  Gage,  commander-in-chief 
of  all  the  British  forces  in  America,  the  same  Gen- 
eral Gage  who  was  afterward  in  Boston,  a  royal 
proclamation  was  read  at  Kaskaskia,  promising  re- 
ligious freedom  to  the  French,  who  were  Roman 
Catholics.3  Even  with  this  assurance  the  inhabi- 
tants so  dreaded  English  rule  that  fully  a  third  of 
.them  left  their  homes,  crossing  to  the  Spanish  at 
St.  Louis  or  going  down  the  river  to  New  Orleans. 
So  the  newcomers  did  no  more  than  keep  the  popu- 
lation even. 

A  small  English  garrison  was  stationed  at  Fort 
Chartres.  When  the  Mississippi,  suddenly  rising 
one  spring,  washed  away  one  side  of  the  stone  fort, 
the  troops  were  moved  to  Kaskaskia,  where  they 
surrounded  the  old  Jesuit  building  with  a  stockade 
and  called  it  Fort  Gage.4 

The  thirteen  years  of  British  rule  in  Illinois  are 
singularly  eventless,  especially  when  you  remember 
the  remarkable  happenings  of  these  years  along  the 
coast.  For  during  this  time  Parliament  was  tax- 
ing the  colonies  without  giving  them  representation. 
The  great  debt  following  the  French  wars  was  in- 
curred, said  the  English,  for  your  defense,  and  you 
must  help  pay. 

Not  in  that  way,  said  the  colonies.     The  tax  on 


36  ILLINOIS 

tea,  the  Boston  party,  the  shots  fired  at  Lexington, 
the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  brought  on  the  Revolu- 
tionary War.  But,  just  as  during  the  French  wars, 
Illinois  was  far  away  from  the  actual  fighting. 


VII 

THE  AMERICAN  CONQUEST 

WHILE  the  thirteen  colonies  were  righting  the 
armies  of  George  III  the  first  settlements 
were  being  made  on  the  frontier.  From  Virginia 
and  North  Carolina  the  newcomers  advanced  into 
Kentucky  to  take  possession  of  the  land. 

Immediately  there  was  trouble  with  the  Indians. 
Stirred  up  by  the  English  traders  and  by  Hamilton, 
the  governor  at  Detroit,  known  as  "the  hair-buying 
general,"  because  he  paid  in  advance  for  scalps,  the 
red  men  began  their  attacks.  And  the  Americans 
banded  together  to  defend  their  homes. 

One  of  the  leaders  was  a  young  Virginian,  who, 
like  Washington,  was  a  backwoods  surveyor.  Placed 
at  the  head  of  Kentucky's  militia,  George  Rogers 
Clark  was  planning  how  best  the  settlements  could 
be  defended.  The  Indian  raids  he  traced  directly 
back  to  the  English,  who  were  furnishing  guns  and 
ammunition  to  the  savages,  from  Kaskaskia,  Vin- 
cennes  and  Detroit.  Taking  these  posts  from  the 
British,  he  determined,  was  the  one  possible  way  of 
ending  these  barbarous  attacks. 

37 


38  ILLINOIS 

That  Clark  was  right  in  thinking  the  English  were 
the  cause  of  the  whole  trouble  we  know  now,  posi- 
tively, from  many  letters  found  in  the  British  rec- 
ords in  Canada.  This  is  a  sample: 

"It  is  the  King's  command,"  the  colonial  secretary 
at  London  wrote  to  the  governor-general  at  Quebec, 
"that  you  direct  Lieutenant-Governor  Hamilton  of 
Detroit  to  assemble  as  many  of  the  Indians  of  his 
district  as  he  conveniently  can,  and  placing  a  proper 
person  at  their  head  to  ...  employ  them  in 
making  a  diversion  and  exciting  alarm  on  the  fron- 
tiers of  Virginia  and  Pennsylvania."1 

And  Hamilton,  while  marching  from  Detroit  to 
Vincennes,  writes  back  to  Quebec : 

"It  will  be  practicable  to  establish  a  post  and  build 
a  fort  .  .  .  but  for  this,  aids  of  men  and  mer- 
chandise will  be  necessary,  to  support  what  may  be 
undertaken  and  to  keep  up  the  good  disposition  of 
the  Indians.  Those  of  this  nation  have  promised 
to  raise  all  their  warriors  next  spring,  and  to  spread 
themselves  in  all  directions  on  the  frontier."2 

In  his  long  surveying  trips  Clark  had  become  well 
acquainted  with  the  various  settlements  west  of  the 
Alleghanies.  He  was  the  first  to  appreciate  the  ad- 
vantages of  extending  the  colonies'  western  bound- 
ary to  the  Mississippi.  Like  La  Salle,  he  planned 
for  the  future. 


THE   AMERICAN    CONQUEST         39 

In  the  summer  of  1777  he  sent  two  spies  to  the 
forts  on  the  Wabash  and  the  Illinois;  and  they  re- 
ported to  him  that  the  militia  were  well  organized, 
but  the  English  kept  a  loose  guard,  and  though  the 
French  had  been  told  that  the  Kentuckians  were 
more  cruel  than  the  Indians,  many  of  them  were 
plainly  in  sympathy  with  the  colonies. 

Back  to  Virginia  hastened  Clark,  to  lay  his  plan 
before  the  governor,  Patrick  Henry.  The  Ameri- 
cans had  just  won  the  battle  of  Saratoga,  and  Bur- 
goyne's  surrender  made  the  suggestion  for  a  vigor- 
ous campaign  in  the  west  especially  opportune.  The 
scheme,  bold  and  well  thought  out,  was  enthusias- 
tically received,  when  Clark  put  it  before  the  gov- 
ernor and  his  advisers.  They  saw  its  vast  possibil- 
ities, as  well  as  its  enormous  difficulties. 

"What  will  you  do,"  asked  Thomas  Jefferson,  "in 
case  you  are  defeated?" 

"Cross  the  Mississippi,"  came  the  prompt  reply, 
"and  seek  the  protection  of  the  Spaniards!"3 

And  with  the  foresight  which  later  marked  his 
purchase  of  Louisiana,  Jefferson  said  to  Clark  that 
his  campaign  "would,  if  successful,  have  an  impor- 
tant bearing  ultimately  in  establishing  the  north- 
western boundary."4 

The  plan  was  regarded  as  extremely  hazardous; 
its  one  chance  of  success,  absolute  secrecy;  so  the 
legislature  was  asked  to  send  an  expedition  for  the 


40  ILLINOIS 

defense  of  Kentucky.  And  true  that  was — Clark's 
primary  object  was  to  end  the  Indian  raids ! 

Virginia,  using  her  every  energy  to  help  Wash- 
ington, gave  what  aid  she  could — twelve  hundred 
pounds  in  paper  money,  far  below  par ;  authority  to 
raise  seven  companies,  of  fifty  men  each,  wherever 
Clark  could  find  them ;  and  a  promise  to  each  soldier 
of  three  hundred  acres  of  land  in  the  conquered  ter- 
ritory.3 

But  the  secrecy  made  it  difficult  to  find  the  seven 
companies.  And  it  was  not  until  May  that  Clark's 
boats,  with  less  than  two  hundred  men,  started  west 
from  Fort  Pitt.  The  usual  route  to  Kaskaskia  was, 
of  course,  all  the  way  by  water,  down  the  Ohio  and 
up  the  Mississippi.  But  there  must  be  no  advance 
news  of  their  coming.  Learning  that  French  and 
Indian  scouts  were  watching  the  river,  Clark  deter- 
mined to  march  overland. 

Two  things  occurred  to  make  them  more  certain 
of  success.  A  letter  came  from  the  east  with  the 
good  news  that  France  had  joined  with  the  colonies 
in  their  war  against  England,  and  was  sending  her 
fleet  and  an  army.  This  would  make  a  favorable  im- 
pression on  the  French  inhabitants,  thought  Clark, 
and  also  on  the  Indians. 

Then  they  met  some  hunters  who  had  lately  been 
at  Kaskaskia.  All  that  the  spies  had  reported,  a 


THE    AMERICAN    CONQUEST         41 

year  before,  they  confirmed,  adding,  writes  the 
leader  in  his  journal : 

"that  if  they  received  timely  notice  of  us,  they 
would  collect  and  give  us  a  warm  reception,  as  they 
were  taught  to  harbor  a  most  horrid  idea  of  the  bar- 
barity of  Rebels,  especially  the  Virginians;  but  that 
if  we  could  surprise  the  place,  which  they  were  in 
hopes  we  might,  they  made  no  doubt  of  our  being 
able  to  do  as  we  pleased." 

"No  part  of  their  information  pleased  me  more," 
Clark  goes  on,  "than  that  of  the  inhabitants  view- 
ing us  as  more  savage  than  their  neighbors,  the  In- 
dians. I  was  determined  to  improve  upon  this,  if 
I  was  fortunate  enough  to  get  them  into  my  pos- 
session ;  as  1  conceived  the  greater  the  shock  I  could 
give  them  at  first,  the  more  sensibly  would  they  feel 
my  lenity,  and  become  more  valuable  friends."6 

With  these  hunters  as  guides  the  Virginians 
struck  across  country,  a  distance  of  a  hundred  and 
twenty  miles  from  Fort  Massac,  where  the  Amer- 
ican flag  was  first  unfurled  in  Illinois,  to  "the  an- 
cient French  village  of  Kaskaskia."  It  was  not 
an  easy  journey  at  best,  for  it  was  a  wild  region, 
with  streams  to  be  forded  and  many  swamps.  With 
great  caution  they  pushed  through  the  forest  and 
over  "those  level  plains  that  is  frequent  through- 
out this  extensive  country,  .  .  .  much  afraid 


42  ILLINOIS 

of  being  discovered  in  these  meadows,  as  we  might 
be  seen  in  many  places  for  several  miles."7  Secrecy 
was  so  important  that  Clark  was  afraid  to  send  out 
hunting  parties  in  search  of  game,  lest  they  be  dis- 
covered. 

Such  an  army  as  they  were!  They  had  left  be- 
hind all  unnecessary  baggage,  and  traveled  as  light 
as  Indians.  They  had  no  uniforms  other  than  the 
fringed  hunting  shirt,  homespun  trousers,  and  moc- 
casins which  made  the  usual  dress  of  the  backwoods- 
man. Their  clothes  were  torn  and  soiled  from  the 
rough  usage  given  them.  Their  beards  were  three 
weeks  long.  The  officers  could  not  be  distinguished 
from  their  men ! 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  fourth  of  July  they 
reached  the  Kaskaskia  River,  three  miles  from  the 
town.  Hiding  in  the  woods  till  dusk,  they  took  pos- 
session of  a  farmhouse  and  learned  from  the  family 
that  the  day  before  the  soldiers  were  all  under  arms, 
but  had  concluded  there  was  no  cause  for  alarm  and 
were  off  their  guard. 

Like  Stark  at  the  battle  of  Bennington,  Clark 
made  a  speech  to  his  men,  brief,  but  conveying  the 
precise  idea,  he  intended : 

"The  town  is  to  be  taken  at  all  events."8 

"I  immediately  divided  my  little  army  into  two 
divisions.  With  one  of  the  divisions  I  marched  to 


THE   AMERICAN    CONQUEST         43 

the  fort,  and  ordered  the  others  into  different  quar- 
ters of  the  town.  If  I  met  with  no  resistance,  at 
a  given  signal,  a  general  shout  was  to  be  given, 
.  .  .  and  men  of  each  detachment,  who  could 
speak  the  French  language,  were  to  run  through 
every  street  and  proclaim  what  had  happened;  and 
inform  the  inhabitants  that  every  person  that  ap- 
peared in  the  streets  would  be  shot  down.  .  .  . 
"In  a  very  little  time  we  had  complete  possession 
and  every  avenue  was  guarded,  to  prevent  any  es- 
cape to  give  the  alarm  to  the  other  villages.  .  .  . 
I  don't  suppose  greater  silence  ever  reigned  among 
the  inhabitants  of  a  place  than  did  at  this  at  present ; 
not  a  person  to  be  seen,  not  a  word  to  be  heard  by 
them  for  some  time,  but  designedly,  the  greatest 
noise  kept  up  by  our  troops  through  every  quarter 
of  the  town,  and  patroles  continually  the  whole  night 
round  it."9 

One  of  Clark's  men  describes  the  attack,  telling 
how  they  found  the  gate  of  Fort  Gage  open,  pushed 
on  in  the  dark  to  the  commandant's  house,  found 
the  unsuspecting  governor,  Rocheblave,  up-stairs  in 
bed,  brought  him  down  a  prisoner,  and  then  gave  a 
loud  huzza.,  answered  by  the  others.  The  French 
began  screaming,  "The  Long  Knives!  The  Long 
Knives!"  (the  name  used  for  the  Virginians  by 
both  French  and  Indians)  and  the  Americans,  yell- 
ing like  mad,  easily  overpowered  the  garrison,  and 
in  fifteen  minutes  were  masters  of  the  place,  with- 
out firing  a  gun.  A  bloodless  conquest,  surely ! 


44  ILLINOIS 

Clark  raised  the  terror  of  the  French  inhabitants 
to  a  painful  height.  He  arrested  the  principal  men 
of  the  village,  for  talking  earnestly  together,  and 
put  them  in  irons  without  allowing  them  to  say  a 
word  in  their  defense.  He  forbade  the  people  to 
have  any  intercourse  between  themselves  or  with 
the  soldiers.  Remembering  the  fate  of  their  coun- 
trymen in  Acadia,  the  poor  creatures  expected  nei- 
ther mercy  nor  compassion. 

The  priest,  Pierre  Gibault,  with  five  or  six  elderly 
citizens,  asked  for  an  audience  with  Clark.  In  a 
low  submissive  voice  he  begged  permission  for  them 
all  "to  assemble  once  more  in  the  church  to  take 
final  leave  of  each  other,  as  they  expected  to  be 
separated,  never  to  meet  again  on  earth."  The 
American  assented,  but  said  they  must  not  venture 
out  of  the  town. 

"They  remained  a  considerable  time  in  the 
church,"  goes  on  his  journal,  "after  which  the  priest 
and  many  of  the  principal  men  came  to  me  to  re- 
turn thanks  for  the  indulgence  shown  them,  and 
begged  permission  to  address  me  further  on  the 
subject  that  was  more  dear  to  them  than  anything 
else;  that  their  present  situation  was  the  fate  of 
war;  that  the  loss  of  their  property  they  could  rec- 
oncile; but  were  in  hopes  that  I  would  not  part 
them  from  their  families;  and  that  the  women  and 
children  might  be  allowed  to  keep  some  of  their 
clothes  and  a  small  quantity  of  provisions."10 


THE    AMERICAN    CONQUEST         45 

Clark  now  threw  off  his  disguise  and  said  to  the 
committee,  who  listened  in  utter  amazement,  afraid 
to  trust  their  ears : 

"Do  you  mistake  us  for  savages?  Do  you  think 
that  Americans  intend  to  strip  the  women  and  chil- 
dren, or  take  the  bread  out  of  their  mouths?  My 
countrymen  disdain  to  make  war  upon  helpless  in- 
nocence. It  was  to  prevent  the  horrors  of  Indian 
butchery  upon  our  own  wives  and  children  that  we 
have  taken  arms  and  penetrated  into  this  remote 
stronghold  of  British  and  Indian  barbarity.  .  .  . 
And  now,  to  prove  my  sincerity,  you  will  please  in- 
form your  fellow  citizens  that  they  are  quite  at 
liberty  to  go  wherever  they  please,  without  the  least 
apprehension.  .  .  .  And  your  friends  who  are 
in  confinement  shall  be  immediately  released."11 

The  joy  of  the  inhabitants  was  so  intense  on  hear- 
ing this  message  that  it  is  difficult  adequately  to  de- 
scribe it.  The  bells  rang,  the  little  church  was 
immediately  crowded,  and  thanks  returned  to  God 
for  the  miraculous  manner  in  which  He  had  subdued 
the  minds  of  their  conquerors. 

"Joy  sparkled  in  their  eyes,"  writes  Clark,  "and 
they  fell  into  transports  that  really  surprised  me. 
.  .  .  In  a  few  minutes  the  scene  of  mourning  and 
distress  was  turned  into  an  excess  of  joy,  nothing 
else  was  seen  nor  heard.  Adorning  the  streets  with 


46  ILLINOIS 

flowers,  pavilians  (flags)  of  different  colors,  com- 
pleting their  happiness  by  singing,  &c."12 

Every  one  of  the  inhabitants  took  the  oath  of 
loyalty  to  the  commonwealth  of  Virginia.  And 
when  soldiers  were  sent  to  take  possession  of  Ca- 
hokia,  a  company  of  Frenchmen  volunteered  to  join 
them,  to  persuade  their  relatives  and  friends  to  fol- 
low their  example.  As  one  man,  Cahokia  went  over 
to  the  Americans.  There  was,  however,  one  ex- 
ception, the  commander  of  the  garrison  at  Kaskas- 
kia,  who  was  violent  and  insulting.  So  Clark,  des- 
patching a  report  to  Patrick  Henry,  sent  him  along 
to  Virginia  as  a  prisoner,  sold  his  slaves  for  two 
thousand  five  hundred  dollars  and  divided  the 
money  among  his  men. 

Thus  a  country  larger  than  the  British  Isles  was 
added  to  the  colonies,  by  the  energy  of  one  man, 
commanding  four  companies  of  militia. 

But  Clark  recognized  the  difficulties  of  his  situa- 
tion. With  so  few  soldiers,  he  was  surrounded  by 
French,  Spanish  and  numerous  bands  of  savages  on 
every  quarter.  "Every  nation  of  Indians  could 
raise  three  or  four  times  our  number,"  and  they 
were  "savages,  whose  minds  had  long  been  poisoned 
by  the  English."13  The  sudden  arrival  of  the  "Long 
Knives"  had  thrown  the  red  men  into  the  greatest 
consternation.  They  did  not  know  which  side  to 


THE   AMERICAN    CONQUEST         47 

stand  by.  But  they  sought  advice  from  their  old 
friends,  the  French  traders,  who  counseled  them  to 
"come  and  solicit  for  peace,  and  did  not  doubt  but 
we  might  be  good  friends." 

"I  am  a  man  and  warrior,  not  a  councilor,"  said 
Clark  to  the  Indians.  "I  carry  war  in  my  right 
hand,  peace  in  my  left.  I  am  sent  by  the  great  coun- 
cil of  the  Long  Knives  and  their  friends,  to  take 
possession  of  all  the  towns  occupied  by  the  English 
in  this  country,  and  to  watch  the  red  people;  to 
bloody  the  paths  of  those  who  attempt  to  stop  the 
course  of  the  rivers,  and  to  clear  the  roads  for  those 
who  desire  to  be  in  peace.  .  .  .  Here  is  a  bloody 
belt,  and  a  peace  belt;  take  which  you  please;  be- 
have like  men,  and  do  not  let  your  being  surrounded 
by  Long  Knives  cause  you  to  take  up  one  belt  with 
your  hands  while  your  hearts  take  up  the  other.  If 
you  take  the  bloody  path,  you  can  go  in  safety  and 
join  your  friends,  the  English.  We  will  try  then 
like  warriors  who  can  stain  our  clothes  the  longest 
with  blood."14 

If,  on  the  other  hand,  they  took  the  path  of  peace, 
they  would  be  received  as  brothers  to  the  Big  Knives 
with  their  friends,  the  French.  An  alliance  was 
formed  with  various  chiefs,  and  these  tribes  re- 
mained the  faithful  friends  of  the  Americans. 

Clark  realized  that  he  must  have  also  the  good 


48  ILLINOIS 

will  of  the  Spanish  just  across  the  Mississippi  at 
St.  Louis.  His  advances  were  well  received,  "our 
friends  the  Spaniards  doing  everything  in  their 
power  to  convince  me  of  their  friendship."  In- 
deed, their  governor  formed  an  attachment  for  the 
tall  Virginian,  who  on  his  side  writes  that,  as  he 
"was  never  before  in  company  with  any  Spanish 
Gent,  I  was  much  surprised  in  my  expectations,  for 
instead  of  finding  that  reserve  thought  peculiar  to 
that  nation,  .  .  .  freedom  almost  to  excess  gave 
the  greatest  pleasure."15 

Meantime  there  was  the  English  post  at  Vin- 
cennes,  between  Kaskaskia  and  Virginia,  threaten- 
ing to  stop  all  communication,  making  their  position 
unsafe  in  the  extreme.  Clark  planned  an  expedition 
against  the  fort  on  the  Wabash,  and  sent  for  Father 
Gibault. 

"He  had  great  influence  over  the  people  at  this 
period,  and  Post  Vincennes  was  under  his  jurisdic- 
tion. I  made  no  doubt  of  his  integrity  to  us." 

Indeed,  the  "patriot  priest  of  the  Northwest"  was 
Clark's  zealous  friend,  after  he  was  told  that  an 
American  officer  had  "nothing  to  do  with  churches 
more  than  to  defend  them  from  insult,  that  by  the 
laws  of  the  state  of  Virginia  his  religion  had  as 
great  privileges  as  any  other." 


"In  answer  to  all  my  inquiries,"  says  Clark's  jour- 
nal, "he  informed  me  that  he  did  not  think  it  worth 
while  to  cause  any  military  preparation  to  be  made 
.  .  .  for  the  attack  of  Post  Vincennes,  although 
the  place  was  strong  and  a  great  number  of  Indians 
in  its  neighborhood  .  .  .  that  he  expected  that 
when  the  inhabitants  were  fully  acquainted  with 
what  had  passed  at  the  Illinois,  and  the  present  hap- 
piness of  their  friends,  and  made  fully  acquainted 
with  the  nature  of  the  war,  that  their  sentiments 
would  greatly  change  .  .  .  that  if  it  was  agree- 
able to  me  he  would  take  this  business  on  himself, 
and  had  no  doubt  of  his  being  able  to  bring  that 
place  over  to  the  American  interest,  without  my  be- 
ing at  the  trouble  of  marching  against  it." 

So  the  troops  stayed  quietly  at  Kaskaskia,  while 
the  priest's  party  set  out,  on  the  fourteenth  of  July, 

"arrived  safe,  and  after  spending  a  day  or  two  in 
explaining  matters  to  the  people,  they  universally 
acceded  to  the  proposal,  and  went  in  a  body  to  the 
church,  where  the  oath  of  allegiance  was  adminis- 
tered to  them  in  the  most  solemn  manner.  An  of- 
ficer was  elected,  the  fort  immediately  garrisoned, 
and  the  American  flag  displayed,  to  the  astonishment 
of  the  Indians,  and  everything  settled  far  beyond 
our  most  sanguine  hopes."16 

But  Vincennes  was  too  important  for  the  English 
to  lose  so  easily.  General  Hamilton  was  greatly  an- 
noyed at  the  news,  raised  an  army  at  Detroit,  and, 


50  ILLINOIS 

heading  it  himself,  set  out  to  recapture  the  town. 
Delayed  at  the  portage  by  their  great  amount  of 
baggage,  and  by  the  ice  on  the  streams,  they  did 
not  arrive  till  December. 

Only  two  Americans  were  in  the  fort,  but  a  splen- 
did resistance  they  made.  A  cannon,  well  charged, 
was  placed  in  the  open  gate,  and  Captain  Helm  stood 
by  it,  with  a  lighted  match  in  his  hand.  When  the 
English  came  within  hailing  distance  he  called  out 
in  a  loud  voice,  "Halt !" 

Hamilton  stopped  and  demanded  the  surrender  of 
the  fort. 

"No  man  shall  enter  until  I  know  the  terms,"  was 
the  reply. 

The  English  answered,  "You  shall  have  the  hon- 
ors of  war,"  and  the  garrison  surrendered,  one  of- 
ficer and  one  man! 

Over  a  month  passed  before  this  news  reached 
Clark  in  Kaskaskia,  with  the  further  report  that 
Hamilton  was  planning  a  great  spring  campaign  in 
Illinois,  after  which  he  would  make  a  clean  sweep 
of  the  Kentucky  settlements.  Had  the  English 
pushed  forward  at  once  to  Kaskaskia,  the  Ameri- 
cans would  have  had  to  surrender,  or  cross  the 
Mississippi,  giving  up  what  they  had  gained. 

"I  knew  that  if  I  did  not  take  him,  he  would  take 
me,"  wrote  Clark  in  his  journal,  and  made  a  bold 
plan  to  attack  first,  by  a  march  overland.  And  the 


THE    AMERICAN    CONQUEST         51 

story  of  that  attack  is  most  interesting,  but  too  long 
for  more  than  a  hint  at  its  dramatic  events:  how 
Clark  sent  the  St.  Louis  merchant,  Francis  Vigo, 
to  find  out  the  strength  of  the  troops  at  Vincennes; 
and  how  Vigo,  arrested  as  a  spy,  kept  his  parole 
to  Hamilton,  and  yet  brought  the  needed  informa- 
tion ;17  how  the  Americans  fitted  out  a  boat  to  carry 
their  supplies  and  cannon,  but  it  arrived  three  days 
too  late;  how  the  force  of  a  hundred  and  seventy 
men  marched  two  hundred  and  thirty  miles  in  Feb- 
ruary, when  the  rivers  were  all  out  of  their  banks, 
and  they  often  had  to  cross  in  water  up  to  their 
shoulders;  how  Clark,  six  feet  tall,  red-headed,  al- 
ways dashed  into  the  cold  water  first,  encouraging 
the  weak,  starting  a  gay  song,  alternately  sternly 
commanding  and  teasing  his  men;  how  for  four 
days  they  were  near  enough  to  hear  the  morning 
guns  at  Vincennes,  without  fires  at  night,  for  two 
days  with  no  food;  how  Clark  marched  his  men 
back  and  forth,  with  all  their  flags  showing,  in  sight 
of  the  town,  but  partly  hidden  by  the  rising  ground, 
till  the  Vincennes  people  thought  they  were  at  least 
a  thousand ;  how  the  inhabitants  were  won  over  by 
a  clever  letter;  how  they  fired  on  the  English  gun- 
ners through  the  loopholes,  until  Hamilton  could 
no  longer  keep  them  at  their  posts ;  how  Clark  forced 
the  British  to  accept  his  terms  of  surrender,  and  the 
whole  garrison,  thirteen  cannon,  and  all  the  military 


52  ILLINOIS 

stores,  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Americans.  All 
this  you  must  read  for  yourself,  for  this  capture  of 
Vincennes  is  one  of  the  most  notable  and  heroic 
achievements  in  the  nation's  history — a  bold  scheme, 
well  planned  and  skilfully  carried  out,  by  a  small 
party  of  ragged  and  half-famished  soldiers.18 

Hamilton,  the  hair-buying  general,  you  may  be 
glad  to  know,  was  sent  to  Virginia  as  a  prisoner, 
and  kept  in  close  confinement.  Despite  the  many 
protests  of  the  English,  that  state,  because  of  the 
cruel  practises  he  had  encouraged,  "refused  to  ex- 
change him  on  any  terms,"  until  near  the  close  of 
the  Revolution. 

While  they  were  still  at  Vincennes  word  came 
from  Governor  Henry,  thanking  the  troops  for  their 
capture  of  Kaskaskia.  The  Virginia  legislature 
made  all  the  territory  west  and  north  of  the  Ohio 
River  into  Illinois  County,  the  largest  county  in  the 
world.  John  Todd  of  Kentucky  was  appointed 
county  lieutenant,  to  take  charge  of  the  civil  de- 
partment, so  that  Clark  could  give  all  his  time  to 
military  affairs. 

"I  was  anxious  for  his  arrival,  and  happy  in  his 
appointment,  as  the  greatest  intimacy  and  friendship 
subsisted  between  us;  and  in  May  had  the  pleasure 
of  seeing  him  safely  landed  at  Kaskaskia,  to  the 
joy  of  every  person.  I  now  saw  myself  happily  rid 
of  a  piece  of  trouble  that  I  had  no  delight  in."19 


THE   AMERICAN    CONQUEST         53 

The  civil  government  and  the  courts  well  started 
under  Colonel  Todd,  Clark  returned  to  Virginia. 
He  wanted  to  attack  Detroit,  to  push  the  American 
frontier  farther  north,  and  frightened  the  British 
by  his  preparations.  But  the  colonies  could  not  give 
him  the  men  and  money  he  required,  and,  much  to 
his  disappointment,  he  never  undertook  what  would 
have  been  the  crowning  achievement  of  his  career. 

But  he  had  made  a  great  reputation,  and  in  1783 
Thomas  Jefferson  wrote  him,  proposing  another  ex- 
pedition to  the  west. 

"I  find,"  says  his  letter  to  Clark,  "they  have 
subscribed  a  very  large  sum  of  money  in  England 
for  exploring  the  country  from  the  Mississippi  to 
California.  They  pretend  it  is  only  to  promote 
knowledge.  I  am  afraid  they  have  thoughts  of  col- 
onizing into  that  quarter.  Some  of  us  have  been 
talking  here  .  .  .of  making  the  attempt  to 
search  that  country.  .  .  .  How  would  you  like 
to  lead  such  a  party?"20 

This  plan,  however,  came  to  nothing.  But  Jef- 
ferson never  forgot  it.  And  just  twenty  years  later, 
Clark's  younger  brother  William  set  out,  with  Meri- 
wether  Lewis,  on  a  similar  expedition,  under  orders 
from  Jefferson,  who  was  then  president.  They 
traced  the  Missouri  to  its  source  and  went  down 
the  Columbia  to  the  Pacific.  So  both  the  Clarks 
added  a  large  and  rich  district  to  the  United  States. 


54  ILLINOIS 

For  the  remainder  of  the  Revolutionary  War  Vir- 
ginia held- the  Illinois  country,  and  the  Indians  were 
friendly.  Clark  was  the  one  man  whose  personal 
influence,  plus  a  small  force  of  soldiers,  could  keep 
the  people  in  order.  The  French  respected  him,  the 
border  men  adored  him,  the  red  men  feared  him. 

In  discussing  terms  of  peace,  in  1782  and  '83, 
the  English  commissioners  claimed  this  territory  as 
a  part  of  Canada.  But  Jay  and  Franklin  persisted 
in  demanding  for  the  colonies  the  country  Clark  had 
won  and  Virginia  was  then  holding.  England 
yielded,  less  because  of  the  garrisons  then  in  pos- 
session than  because  of  Benjamin  Franklin's  argu- 
ment that  there  could  be  no  permanent  peace  unless 
the  United  States  had  room  for  growth;  that  the 
westward  movement  over  the  mountains  could  not 
be  stopped,  the  rough  border  men  could  not  be  re- 
strained from  constant  encroachment  on  the  wilder- 
ness, and  that  the  frontier,  on  any  other  terms, 
would  provide  an  endless  fight.21 

Of  course  you  will  want  to  read  the  story  of 
Clark's  conquest  in  detail.  Thwaites's  How  George 
Rogers  Clark  Won  the  Northwest  is  a  brief  ac- 
count, very  interesting.  Butterfield's  Clark's  Con- 
quest of  the  Northwest  is  a  longer  narrative,  giv- 
ing Bowman's  journal  and  Clark's  memoir  and 
letter.  These  you  will  find,  also,  in  volume  one  of 


THE    AMERICAN    CONQUEST         55 

the  Illinois  Historical  Collections;  and  volume  eight 
is  wholly  Clark  papers — letters  and  journals  and 
memoirs,  often  with  no  changes  in  the  quaint  spell- 
ing and  punctuation  of  the  Virginian  officer.  The 
Conquest  is  a  Clark  story,  written  by  Dye. 


VIII 

TERRITORIAL  YEARS 

SO  the  Revolutionary  War  ended  by  England's 
recognizing  the  independence  of  the  United 
States,  and  fixing  the  boundary  at  the  Mississippi 
River. 

The  Illinois  country  was  claimed  by  Virginia, 
because  the  grant  of  James  I  to  the  London  Com- 
pany included  all  the  land  westward  to  the  Pacific 
Ocean,  and  because  of  Clark's  conquest.  Had  not 
the  French  inhabitants  sworn  allegiance  to  the  com- 
monwealth of  Virginia?  Were  not  her  soldiers  in 
the  frontier  garrisons?  Were  net  the  courts  of  jus- 
tice administering  her  laws? 

But  New  York  claimed  part  of  the  land,  because 
of  her  treaty  with  the  Five  Nations.  And  Massa- 
chusetts and  Connecticut  claimed  parts  of  the  coun- 
try, because  their  grants  from  the  King  of  England 
ran  to  the  Pacific.  And  a  splendid  quarrel  threat- 
ened. 

It  was  a  patriotic  and  wise  plan,  first  proposed 
by  Maryland,  and  in  time  agreed  to  by  all  four 
states,  that  each  should  yield  to  the  federal  govern- 

56 


TERRITORIAL   YEARS  57 

ment  its  western  land  claims.1  Like  Hamilton's  plan 
to  establish  the  tariff  and  take  over  the  state  debts, 
this  gave  each  state  a  direct  interest  in  the  success 
of  the  national  government.  The  Northwest  Ter- 
ritory, as  it  \vas  now  called,  thus  became  property 
held  in  common,  for  the  benefit  of  all  the  states. 
The  gradual  sale  of  the  land  would  help  pay  the 
Revolutionary  debt. 

Not  until  1786  did  the  last  state  make  its  tardy 
cession,  and  the  following  year  Congress  passed  an 
ordinance  establishing  a  government  for  the  new 
possessions. 

"We  are  accustomed,"  said  Daniel  Webster,  "to 
praise  the  law-givers  of  antiquity;  we  help  to  per- 
petuate the  fame  of  Solon  and  Lycurgus,  but  I  doubt 
that  one  single  law,  ancient  or  modern,  has  produced 
effects  of  more  distinct,  marked  and  lasting  char- 
acter than  the  ordinance  of  1787."2 

For  it  did  more  than  meet  the  immediate  needs, 
it  planned  for  the  future,  providing  government  by 
Congress  for  the  whole  territory,  then  semi-self- 
government,  and  finally  admission  to  the  Union  as 
three  or  five  states.  Special  provisions  were  made, 
"to  remain  forever  unalterable,  unless  by  common 
consent,"  guaranteeing  freedom  of  worship,  trial  by 
jury,  the  encouragement  of  schools,  and  no  slavery. 

This  ordinance  has  been  called  "the  great  Amer- 


58  ILLINOIS 

ican  charter,"  for  it  determined  the  destiny  of  the 
states  formed  from  the  Northwest  Territory,  and 
was  a  powerful  factor  in  settling  two  great  national 
questions — slavery  and  state  sovereignty.  It  was 
passed  unanimously,  by  men  building  better  than 
they  knew.  And  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  of 
the  eight  states  represented  that  day  in  Congress, 
seven  were  slave  states.3  Perhaps  they  agreed  to 
the  "no  slavery"  clause  because  in  1787  slavery  was 
not  a  political  issue.  Indeed,  one  Virginian  voted 
for  it,  saying  that  this  would  prevent  raising  tobacco 
and  indigo  and  cotton  north  of  the  Ohio  River.4 

For  thirteen  years  the  people  in  the  Northwest 
Territory  had  no  share  in  the  government.  Con- 
gress appointed  the  governor  and  secretary,  and 
established  a  court  with  three  judges,  who,  with 
the  governor,  adopted  such  laws  of  the  other  states 
as  were  needed.  The  first  governor  was  Arthur  St. 
Clair,  who  had  been  an  officer  in  the  Revolution. 
His  was  a  difficult  position,  for  his  people  were 
widely  scattered  and  the  Indians  unfriendly.  The 
peace  of  1783  had  not  included  the  red  men,  and 
they  were  constantly  attacking  the  new  settlements. 

Both  English  and  French  traders  had  wanted 
furs,  furs,  furs ;  they  wished  the  country  to  remain 
a  wilderness.  But  these  Americans,  crossing  the 
Alleghanies,  spread  over  their  hunting  grounds  and 


TERRITORIAL    YEARS  59 

made  farms  along  the  rivers.  The  Indians  saw 
themselves  driven  from  the  land,  like  leaves  before 
the  autumn  wind.  And  always  there  was  the  Brit- 
ish agent,  at  the  posts  still  held  in  the  northwest, 
stirring  up  trouble : 

"Your  father,  King  George,  loves  his  red  chil- 
dren, and  wishes  his  red  children  supplied  with 
everything  they  want.  He  is  not  like  the  Ameri- 
cans, who  are  continually  blinding  your  eyes,  and 
stopping  your  ears  with  good  words,  that  taste  sweet 
as  sugar,  while  they  get  all  your  lands  from  you."5 

The  Americans  suggested  a  treaty,  giving  a  fair 
equivalent  for  the  land,  but  the  Indians  refused 
every  proposal.  The  raids  must  be  stopped,  and 
soldiers  were  sent  to  the  frontier.  A  first  army  was 
driven  back  by  the  savages,  the  next  met  a  Brad- 
dock's  defeat;  then  Wayne,  the  "Mad  Anthony 
Wayne"  who  captured  Stony  Point,  won  a  great 
victory,  laid  waste  their  cabins  and  corn  fields  for 
fifty  miles,  and  the  Indians  made  a  treaty  giving  up 
a  large  tract  of  land.  If  it  was  ever  broken,  threat- 
ened Wayne,  he  would  rise  from  his  grave  to  fight 
them  again.  This  quieted  the  excitement  along  the 
whole  frontier,  and  Wayne's  treaty  was  kept  until 
1812. 

When  this  news  spread  abroad,  with  life  and 


60  ILLINOIS 

property  secured,  settlers  began  to  pour  into  the  ter- 
ritory in  a  steadily  increasing  stream.  The  frontier 
was  pushed  back  by  the  hardy  pioneers. 

In  1800  Congress  divided  the  unwieldy  North- 
west Territory  into  two  parts:  Ohio,  and  all  the 
rest,  called  Indiana  Territory.  William  Henry  Har- 
rison was  appointed  governor  of  Indiana,  with  Vin- 
cennes  as  the  capital;  and  for  nine  years  Illinois 
was  a  part  of  Indiana,  without  even  a  name  of  its 
own. 

As  settlements  increased  in  the  neighborhood  of 
the  Mississippi,  the  sentiment  in  favor  of  separating 
from  Indiana  grew.  For  between  them  and  Vin- 
cennes  the  country  was  a  wilderness,  the  journey  to 
the  capital  full  of  hardship  and  danger.  In  1806 
and  '07  and  '08,  memorials  were  sent  to  Congress, 
asking  that  Illinois  be  separated  from  Indiana,  and 
the  following  year  Washington  made  the  division.6 

On  the  recommendation  of  Henry  Clay,  Ninian 
Edwards  of  Kentucky  was  appointed  as  governor 
of  Illinois  Territory;  and  Nathaniel  Pope  was  made 
secretary. 

In  a  brief  three  years  Illinois  grew  so  rapidly  that 
it  was  advanced  from  the  first  to  the  second  stage 
of  territorial  government.  The  governor  was  ap- 
pointed as  before,  but  the  laws  were  now  made  by 
the  legislature — seven  representatives  and  five  coun- 


TH! 

OF  THE 
UNIVERSITY  IF  HI*"1* 


TERRITORIAL   YEARS  61 

cilors  elected  by  the  people.  They  also  elected  a 
delegate  to  Congress. 

The  first  territorial  legislature  of  Illinois  met  at 
Kaskaskia  in  November,  1812,  in  an  old  building  of 
rough  limestone,  with  steep  roof  and  gables  of  un- 
painted  boards.  The  first  floor,  a  low  cheerless 
room,  was  for  the  house  of  representatives.  A  small 
room  up-stairs  served  for  the  council.  There  was 
one  doorkeeper  for  both  houses.  The  twelve  mem- 
bers boarded  with  the  same  family,  and  lodged,  it 
is  said,  all  in  one  room!  And  it  is  an  interesting 
little  fact  that  of  these  dozen  legislators,  not  one  was 
a  lawyer,  and  each  one  had  been  a  soldier. 

Unlike  the  old  French  regime,  the  government 
had  to  be  financed.  The  funds  for  the  territory 
were  raised  by  a  tax  on  land:  a  dollar  for  every 
hundred  acres  of  bottom  land,  seventy-five  cents 
for  the  uplands.  The  county  revenue  was  a  dollar 
tax  on  slaves,  fifteen  dollars  for  merchants,  ten  dol- 
lars for  a  ferry,  a  small  tax  on  houses  worth  two 
hundred  dollars  or  more;  horses  fifty  cents,  and 
cattle  a  dime.7 

Some  of  the  old  laws  of  the  territory  of  Illinois 
are  especially  interesting.  Treason  and  murder,  ar- 
son and  horse  stealing  were  punished  by  death.  For 
stealing  a  hog  a  man  was  fined  from  fifty  to  a  hun- 
dred dollars,  and  given  from  twenty-five  to  thirty- 


62  ILLINOIS 

nine  lashes  on  his  bare  back.  Altering  the  brand 
on  a  horse  meant  a  hundred  and  forty  lashes.  And 
a  man  who  received  a  stolen  horse,  knowing  it  to 
be  stolen,  was  declared  as  guilty  as  the  thief.8 

Other  punishments  were  confinement  in  the  pil- 
lory and  stocks  and  heavy  fines.  If  unable  to  pay, 
the  culprit  was  hired  out  by  the  sheriff  to  any  one 
who  would  pay  his  fine;  if  a  man  ran  away,  his 
penalty  was  double  time.  You  see,  the  territory  of 
Illinois  was  almost  as  puritanic  as  New  England. 


IX 

THE  WAR  OF  1812 

WHILE  Illinois  was  taking  the  first  steps  in 
self-government  the  War  of  1812  began. 
You  remember  how  England  kept  the  forts  in  the 
northwest,  in  spite  of  the  treaty  of  peace,  and  abused 
our  sailors  on  the  high  seas?  There  was  no  fight- 
ing in  Illinois  between  British  and  American  troops, 
just  as  in  the  previous  wars.  The  battles,  you  know, 
were  on  the  ocean,  in  Canada,  and  near  New  Or- 
leans. 

But  the  war  came  directly  to  Illinois,  on  account 
of  the  Indian  attacks  incited  by  English  agents  all 
through  the  northwest.  The  great  leader  of  the  red 
men  was  Tecumseh,  who  with  his  brother,  the 
Prophet,  joined  many  tribes  in  a  conspiracy,  like 
Pontiac's,  to  drive  the  white  men  east  over  the 
mountains,  away  from  the  hunting  grounds  of  the 
whole  Mississippi  Valley. 

In  his  interviews  with  Harrison,  who  had  fol- 
lowed Wayne's  plan  of  securing  land  by  treaties, 
Tecumseh  insisted  that  none  of  these  agreements 
was  binding,  as  they  had  been  made  by  individual 

63 


64  ILLINOIS 

tribes,  instead  of  with  the  consent  of  all  the  tribes. 
He  offered  an  alliance,  if  the  Americans  would  give 
up  all  the  lands  they  held  by  treaty  or  purchase. 
But  Harrison  replied  "that  the  president  would  put 
his  warriors  in  petticoats,  sooner  than  give  up  the 
country  he  had  fairly  acquired,  or  to  suffer  his  peo- 
ple to  be  murdered  with  impunity."1 

"Then  the  Great  Spirit,"  said  Tecumseh,  "must 
decide  the  matter.  It  is  true  the  president  is  so  far 
off  that  he  will  not  be  injured  by  the  war.  He 
may  sit  still  in  his  town,  and  drink  his  wine,  while 
you  and  I  will  have  to  fight  it  out."2 

And  fight  it  out  they  did,  in  the  battle  of  Tippe- 
canoe,  a  famous  Harrison  victory. 

When  war  was  finally  declared,  the  Americans 
wanted  to  conquer  Canada,  just  as  in  the  early  days 
of  the  Revolution.  General  Hull  crossed  at  Detroit 
and  encamped  on  Canadian  soil,  but  soon  withdrew 
his  force  and  surrendered  Detroit  and  the  whole  ter- 
ritory of  Michigan,  while  his  men  wept  at  the  dis- 
grace. Other  posts  suffered,  too,  miserably  pro- 
vided for,  through  Hull's  incompetence,  or  because 
his  requests  for  men  and  supplies  were  not  met  at 
Washington. 

Chief  of  these  was  the  little  fort  on  the  Chicago 
River,  which  had  been  built  eight  years  before,  "to 
supply  the  Indians'  wants  and  to  control  the  In- 
dians' policy."  It  consisted  of  two  blockhouses, 


THE   WAR   OF    1812  65 

surrounded  by  a  stockade,  a  subterranean  passage 
from  the  parade  to  the  river,  and  three  pieces  of 
light  artillery.  It  was  named  Fort  Dearborn,  after 
a  general  in  the  United  States  Army. 

This  summer  of  1812  it  had  a  garrison  of  seventy- 
five  men  under  Captain  Heald.  Hull,  commanding 
the  entire  northwest,  sent  a  friendly  Indian  to 
Heald,  with  orders  "to  evacuate  the  fort  at  Chi- 
cago if  practicable,  and  in  that  event,  to  distribute 
all  of  the  United  States  property  contained  in  the 
fort,  and  the  United  States  factory,  or  agency, 
among  the  Indians  of  the  neighborhood,  and  repair 
to  Fort  Wayne."3 

If  the  garrison  was  not  to  be  reinforced,  leaving 
this  isolated  fort  was  perhaps  a  wise  move.  Not  so, 
the  indiscriminate  giving  to  the  Indians ! 

The  messenger  urged  that  the  Americans,  if  they 
were  going,  should  go  without  a  moment's  delay, 
leaving  all  things  standing,  and  make  their  retreat 
while  the  savages  were  busy  dividing  the  spoils. 
Several  of  the  officers  remonstrated  with  Heald, 
saying  it  was  little  short  of  madness,  urging  him 
to  stay  in  the  fort,  for  they  had  provisions  and  am- 
munition for  six  months,  and  it  was  better  to  fall 
into  the  hands  of  the  English  than  become  the  vic- 
tims of  the  savages.  But  Heald  was  a  soldier,  with 
orders  from  his  general,  and  disregarded  this  pru- 
dent advice. 


66  ILLINOIS 

The!  Indians  were  showing  distinct  signs  of  un- 
friendliness, walking  boldly  into  the  fort  without 
answering  the  sentinels.  Yet  Heald  called  them  to 
a  council  and  asked  their  escort  to  Fort  Wayne, 
promising  large  rewards  on  their  arrival,  in  addition 
to  the  presents  he  would  give  them  immediately. 
To  this  the  red  men  agreed. 

The  next  day  all  the  goods  and  provisions  in  the 
government  store  were  distributed  among  the  In- 
dians— blankets,  broadcloths,  calicoes,  paints.  But 
even  Captain  Heald  was  struck  with  the  folly  of 
giving  them  arms  and  ammunition,  and  liquor  to 
fire  their  brains.  At  night,  with  the  greatest  silence 
and  secrecy,  the  barrels  of  whisky  were  rolled 
through  the  underground  passage  and  emptied  into 
the  stream,  the  guns  and  powder  thrown  into  a  well. 

But  the  Indians,  suspecting  the  game,  approached 
as  near  as  possible,  heard  the  knocking  in  of  the 
barrel  heads,  and  saw  the  whole  affair.  The  river 
tasted  "like  strong  grog,"  they  said  the  next  morn- 
ing. Murmurs  and  threats  were  heard  on  every 
side.  They  bitterly  reproached  the  Americans  for 
not  keeping  their  pledge.  Years  later  Black  Hawk 
insisted  that  Heald's  broken  promise  brought  on  the 
massacre.4 

But  some  of  the  Indians  were  truly  the  friends 
of  the  white  men.  One  chief  warned  them  that  the 
Pottawatomies  could  not  be  trusted.  Another, 


THE   WAR   OF    1812  67 

Black  Partridge,  went  to  Captain  Heald  after  the 
council,  saying,  "Father,  I  am  come  to  deliver  up 
to  you  the  medal  I  wear.  It  was  given  me  by  your 
countrymen,  and  I  have  long  worn  it,  as  a  token 
of  our  friendship.  Our  young  men  are  resolved  to 
imbrue  their  hands  in  the  blood  of  the  whites.  I 
can  not  restrain  them,  and  will  not  wear  a  token  of 
peace  when  compelled  to  act  as  an  enemy."5 

Notwithstanding  all  these  warnings,  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  fifteenth  of  August,  Captain  Heald 
marched  out  of  the  fort  at  the  head  of  his  troops, 
their  families  and  baggage,  and  bringing  up  the  rear 
was  a  force  of  five  hundred  Indians,  the  escort  to 
Fort  Wayne.  The  long  line  started  down  the  beach 
road,  near  the  lake.  A  mile  and  a  half  from  the  fort, 
the  Indians  changed  to  the  prairie  road,  with  sand 
dunes  intervening  between  them  and  the  Americans. 

Suddenly  a  volley  of  musketry  poured  in  upon 
the  soldiers.  Brought  into  line,  the  troops  charged 
up  the  bank,  and  the  battle  at  once  became  general. 
The  Americans  behaved  most  gallantly,  and  though 
they  were  few  in  number,  sold  their  lives  dearly. 
But  when  two-thirds  of  them  had  been  killed,  the 
remainder  surrendered,  stipulating  for  their  own 
safety,  and  the  safety  of  the  women  and  children. 

The  wounded  soldiers  were  not  specifically  men- 
tioned, and  the  Indians,  insisting  they  had  not  been 
included,  tomahawked  them  during  the  night.  The 


68  ILLINOIS 

dozen  children  in  one  of  the  baggage  wagons  were 
killed.  The  fort  was  plundered  and  burned  to  the 
ground.  The  prisoners  were  distributed  among  the 
savages,  and  not  till  a  year  later  ransomed  at  De- 
troit.6 

This  massacre  at  Fort  Dearborn  was  the  greatest 
that  ever  occurred  in  Illinois.  Troops  were  at  once 
enlisted  for  expeditions  against  the  tribes  that  had 
taken  part,  several  of  their  villages  were  destroyed 
and  their  fields  laid  waste. 

For  the  rest  of  the  war  the  frontier  was  put  in  a 
state  of  defense.  Blockhouses  and  stockade  forts 
were  repaired  and  strengthened.  Remote  settlers 
and  garrisons  were  moved  to  the  villages.  New 
companies  of  "rangers,"  mounted  militia,  patroled 
the  border. 

In  spite  of  these  precautions,  the  frontier  reached 
so  far  that  the  greatest  diligence  in  ranging  could 
not  give  perfect  security.  Raids  and  murders  in- 
creased as  the  war  went  on,  for  the  Indians  were 
given  additional  incentives  by  the  British,  who  kept 
up  their  work  of  "setting  the  red  men  like  dogs 
upon  the  whites."  Perry's  victory  on  Lake  Erie 
and  Harrison's  at  the  Thames  forced  the  savages  to 
retreat  from  Canada,  and  center  their  attacks  on  the 
Mississippi  settlements.  North  of  the  Illinois  River 
the  Indians  kept  the  upper  hand  until  peace  finally 
brought  them  to  terms. 


THE   WAR   OF    1812  69 

Mrs.  Kinzie,  whose  family  were  among  the  first 
settlers  at  Fort  Dearborn,  wrote  a  most  interesting 
story  called  Waubun,  the  Early  Day  in  the  North- 
west. You  will  enjoy  her  account  of  the  massacre, 
told  partly  in  the  words  of  an  eye-witness,  the  wife 
of  one  of  the  officers,  who  was  saved  by  Black  Par- 
tridge. The  Wentworth  essays,  published  in  the 
Fergus  historical  series,  and  Quaife's  Chicago  and 
the  Old  Northwest  are  other  interesting  accounts; 
and  you  will  find  a  good  chapter  in  Parrish's  His- 
toric Illinois. 


X 

ILLINOIS  BECOMES  A  STATE 

PROVINCE,  county,  territory,  Illinois  was  soon 
ready  to  ask  for  a  final  form  of  government. 
After  the  War  of  1812  the  number  of  settlers  in- 
creased very  rapidly.  The  fertility  of  the  soil  and 
the  healthful  climate  attracted  many  immigrants. 
The  cessation  of  Indian  attacks  made  life  and  prop- 
erty secure.  The  introduction  of  steamboats  on 
lakes  and  rivers  made  the  journey  far  easier.  Best 
of  all,  Congress  passed  an  act  giving  settlers  the 
right  of  preemption  on  public  lands,  protecting  them 
against  speculators.1  In  ten  years  the  population 
increased  nearly  five  hundred  per  cent. 

Early  in  1818  the  legislature  of  the  territory  sent 
a  petition  to  Nathaniel  Pope,  their  delegate  at  Wash- 
ington, asking  for  the  admission  of  Illinois  to  the 
Union.  A  bill  for  this  purpose  was  introduced  in 
Congress  in  April. 

Pope,  looking  to  the  future,  suggested  two  amend- 
ments. In  the  other  states  formed  from  the  North- 
west Territory  three  per  cent,  of  the  public  land 

70 


BECOMES   A    STATE  71 

money  was  given  to  the  states  for  building  roads 
and  bridges.  But  in  Illinois  this  was  to  be  used  for 
schools.2 

Still  more  important  was  the  question  of  the 
boundary,  which  had  been  fixed  by  the  ordinance 
of  1787;  but  Pope  suggested  that  the  line  from  the 
Mississippi  to  Lake  Michigan  should  be  moved  far- 
ther north.  Illinois,  said  he,  is  the  keystone  in  the 
arch  of  western  states.  Her  size  and  the  oppor- 
tunity afforded  for  supporting  a  large  population 
will  make  her  an  influential  state.  She  will  be  an 
important  factor  in  preserving  or  dissolving  the 
Union,  should  that  question  arise.  Geography  ties 
her  closely  to  south  and  west,  because  of  the  river 
commerce  on  the  Mississippi  and  its  tributaries. 
Now,  if  we  give  Illinois  a  frontage  on  Lake  Mich- 
igan, where  the  steamboats  will  soon  increase  trade, 
she  will  have  equally  strong  business  ties  with  the 
eastern  states.  Linked  to  both  south  and  east,  her 
interests  would  be  conservative,  and  she  will  support 
the  federal  union.3 

Congress  agreed  unanimously  with  Pope,  and  the 
line  was  fixed  at  42°  30'.  Wisconsin  made  repeated 
efforts  to  have  her  land  restored;  but  her  petitions 
to  Congress  were  tabled  and  she  was  admitted  to 
the  Union  in  1848  with  no  change  in  the  boundary. 

This  moving  of  the  northern  line  and  the  pro- 
vision for  the  support  of  schools  were  urged  by 


72  ILLINOIS 

Pope  without  special  instructions  from  the  legisla- 
ture. Illinois  was  being  built  better  than  the  people 
knew.  Without  Pope's  line  the  entire  history  of 
state  and  nation  would  have  to  be  changed.  For  it 
added  to  Illinois  a  strip  of  land,  sixty-one  miles 
wide,  from  which  fourteen  counties  were  made.  It 
gave  her  the  lead  mines  of  Galena,  a  generous  share 
of  the  lake  front,  the  site  of  Chicago.  It  made  pos- 
sible the  Illinois-Michigan  Canal  and  the  Illinois 
Central  railroad. 

And  when  you  learn  that  the  vote  of  these  north- 
ern counties,  in  later  years,  kept  Illinois  a  free  state, 
carried  the  state  Republican  in  1856  and  made  Lin- 
coln a  presidential  possibility,  and  gave  him  the  vote 
of  Illinois  in  1860,  you  may  well  marvel  at  Pope's 
suggestion  as  that  of  a  prophet,  foreseeing  the  dan- 
ger to  the  nation  in  slavery  and  state  sovereignty, 
and  placing  Illinois  squarely  in  the  right.  Forty- 
two  years  later  the  prophecy  was  fulfilled.  The 
south  did  secede,  but  Illinois  remained  in  the  Union, 
setting  an  example  of  loyalty  to  Missouri  and  Ken- 
tucky, her  neighbors  on  the  border. 

During  the  summer  of  1818  a  convention  met  at 
Kaskaskia,  to  make  a  constitution  for  the  new  state 
of  Illinois.  It  divided  the  government  into  three 
parts,  just  like  the  federal  plan :  legislative,  with  two 
branches,  executive  and  judicial.  The  governor, 
lieutenant-governor  and  senators  were  to  be  elected 


BECOMES    A    STATE  73 

every  four  years,  the  representatives  every  two.  The 
supreme  court  was  to  have  four  judges,  who  heard 
cases  in  the  circuit  courts  also. 

The  governor  must  be  at  least  thirty  years  of  age, 
a  resident  of  the  United  States  for  thirty  years  and 
of  Illinois  for  two  years  before  his  election.  The 
same  requirements  were  made  for  the  lieutenant- 
governor,  but  after  the  constitution  was  completed 
and  signed  by  the  delegates,  this  was  changed.  The 
clause,  "a  citizen  of  the  United  States  for  thirty 
years,"  was  stricken  out  from  the  qualifications  for 
lieutenant-governor,  that  Pierre  Menard,  a  French- 
man in  Kaskaskia  who  had  just  been  naturalized, 
might  hold  this  office.4 

This  first  constitution  for  Illinois  had  several  pe- 
culiar features.  The  legislature,  not  the  governor, 
appointed  almost  all  the  officials  for  counties  and 
state.  Hordes  of  place  hunters  went  to  the  capital 
at  every  session  and  besieged  members  for  offices. 
The  legislature  had  the  right  to  grant  divorces. 
Worst  of  all,  it  could  pledge  the  state's  credit  with- 
out limit,  a  fact  that  later  brought  Illinois  to  the 
verge  of  bankruptcy.  It  had  one  splendid  provi- 
sion— no  imprisonment  for  debt,  Illinois  being  one  / 
of  the  first  states  to  do  away  with  this  practise. 

A  draft  of  the  new  constitution  was  sent  to  Con- 
gress and  that  body  passed  a  resolution  on  the  third 


74  ILLINOIS 

of  December,  1818,  declaring  Illinois  to  be  "one  of 
the  United  States  of  America,  and  admitted  to  the 
Union  on  an  equal  footing  with  the  original  states 
in  all  respects." 


XI 


EARLY  YEARS  OF  STATEHOOD 

OUR  state  history  begins,  then,  in  the  winter 
of  1818,  with  Kaskaskia  as  the  capital.  But 
almost  the  first  thing  done  by  the  legislature,  follow- 
ing the  example  of  Congress  in  making  Washington 
the  capital  of  the  nation,  was  to  choose  a  new  cap- 
ital for  Illinois. 

Congress,  when  petitioned,  granted  the  state  four 
sections  of  land,  and  commissioners  were  appointed 
to  select  the  site  and  lay  out  a  town,  to  be  the  capital 
for  twenty  years.  They  were  considering  Carlyle, 
a  place  on  the  river  just  above  Kaskaskia,  and  a 
high  bluff  belonging  to  Nathaniel  Pope,  when  a 
noted  hunter  and  trapper  named  Reeves  came  into 
town.  Still  farther  up  the  river,  twenty  miles  from 
any  settlement,  he  had  a  cabin,  and  spoke  in  the 
most  glowing  terms  of  the  beauty  of  the  country 
there.  "Pope's  bluff  nor  Carlyle  wasn't  a  primin' 
to  his  bluff !"  and  that  won  over  the  commissioners, 
who  voted  for  Reeves's  home.1 

Though  in  the  midst  of  a  wilderness,  it  was  a 
beautiful  spot,  covered  with  gigantic  trees.  The 

75 


76  ILLINOIS 

site  selected,  the  commissioners  must  have  a  name, 
euphonious  and  historic.  The  story  goes  that  a  wag 
said  the  Vandals  were  once  a  powerful  nation  of 
Indians  on  the  Kaskaskia  River.  Without  troubling 
themselves  about  history  the  officials  adopted  this 
suggestion  and  the  new  capital  was  named  Van- 
dalia.2 

A  town  was  laid  out,  with  a  handsome  public 
square  and  broad  streets.  Lots  were  sold  at  auction, 
for  fabulous  prices,  as  high  as  seven  hundred  and 
eighty  dollars.  The  people  proved  themselves  Van- 
dals indeed,  for  their  first  act  was  to  cut  down  the 
forest  trees !  The  plans  for  a  fine  state  house  ended 
in  a  plain  two-story  frame  building,  with  a  rough 
stone  foundation,  set  in  the  center  of  the  square. 

In  December,  1820,  the  archives  of  Illinois  were 
moved  from  Kaskaskia  to  Vandalia,  making  one 
wagon  load.  It  was  indeed  a  pioneer  trip,  for  part 
of  the  way  the  clerk  of  the  secretary  of  state  had  to 
cut  a  road  through  the  woods. 

Three  years  later  the  state  house  burned  in  the 
night,  not  a  piece  of  furniture  being  saved.  Imme- 
diately the  citizens  of  Vandalia  started  a  subscrip- 
tion to  rebuild  it,  and  raised  three  thousand  dollars 
in  three  days.  Using  this  sum,  and  state  funds  in 
addition,  a  large  brick  building  was  erected,  serving 
as  the  capitol  till  1839  and  since  then  as  the  county 
building. 


EARLY  YEARS  OF  STATEHOOD  77 

And  now,  what  kind  of  place  was  Illinois,  what 
people  lived  here,  in  those  early  days?  What  were 
their  occupations  and  their  interests? 

The  settlements  were  all  in  the  south,  below  Al- 
ton, and  near  the  rivers.  There  were  large  tracts 
of  wilderness  country  inhabited  only  by  the  wolves 
and  Indians.  But  there  was  constant  change,  the 
number  of  people  increasing  with  phenomenal  ra- 
pidity. See  what  the  census  reported  each  decade — 
12,000  people,  57,000,  72,000,  157,000,  and  then 
480,000,  with  an  increase  in  wealth  in  nearly  the 
same  proportion. 

Immigration  came  in  waves,  flowing  in  in  a  great 
tide,  ebbing,  and  flooding  in  again.  After  Wayne's 
treaty,  after  the  conflict  with  England,  after  the 
election  in  1824,  after  the  Black  Hawk  war,  large 
numbers  of  people  arrived  to  settle  in  Illinois.  In 
1825  the  current  set  toward  the  center  of  the  state. 
In  Vandalia  alone,  in  three  weeks'  time,  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  wagons  were  counted,  all  going  north- 
ward.3 And  one  fortnight  saw  four  hundred  immi- 
grants passing  through  the  capital,  bound  for  the 
Sangamo  country.  Five  years  more  saw  people  liv- 
ing as  far  north  as  Peoria,  and  by  1840  practically 
the  whole  state  was  settled. 

Scarcely  a  twentieth  part  of  the  inhabitants  of 
Illinois  were  of  French  descent.  Nineteen-twenti- 
eths  were  American,  first  Clark's  sturdy  soldiers, 


78  ILLINOIS 

then  groups  from  Kentucky  and  Virginia,  stamping 
the  social  customs  of  the  south  on  all  of  southern 
Illinois.  The  settlers  in  the  north  were  Yankees 
— so  enterprising,  so  restless,  so  industrious  that  the 
north  soon  went  ahead  in  farms  and  villages,  in 
roads  and  bridges,  in  churches  and  schools.  For 
a  while  the  southern  part  of  the  state,  being  older 
and  better  cultivated,  "gathered  corn  as  the  sand 
of  the  sea."  And  people  in  the  center  and  north, 
after  the  manner  of  the  children  of  Israel,  went 
"thither  to  buy  and  bring  from  thence  that  they 
might  live  and  not  die."  And  so  the  southern  part 
of  Illinois  was  named  Egypt,  and  is  so  called  to  this 
day.4 

But  the  fame  of  the  agricultural  advantages  of 
Illinois  had  spread  far  beyond  the  Atlantic  states. 
It  had  attracted  the  attention  of  Europeans.5  A 
German  colony  called  "Dutch  Hollow"  was  started 
in  St.  Clair  County.  A  Swiss  colony  was  planted 
near  by.  *  And  in  Edwards  County  was  the  flourish- 
ing town  of  Albion,  founded  by  two  Englishmen, 
Flower  and  Birkbeck.  From  the  British  Isles  they 
brought  out  several  hundred  families — artisans,  la- 
borers and  farmers — and  this  community  became 
one  of  the  most  prosperous  in  the  state.  Morris 
Birkbeck  had  met  Edward  Coles  in  London.  Two 
years  later  they  were  both  in  Illinois,  where  one 
became  governor,  the  other  secretary  of  state. 


Many  men  of  the  East,  hearing  tales  of  the  western  country, 
made  extensive  journeys  through  the  interior  on  horseback, 
by  boat,  or  on  foot,  in  order  to  see  the  region  for  themselves 
or  to  pick  out  future  homes  for  themselves  and  their  families 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF  THE 
UHIVERSITY  Of  IUMQIS 


EARLY  YEARS  OF  STATEHOOD  79 

These  settlers  from  the  east  brought  money  with 
them.  This  was  quite  a  novelty  in  Illinois.6  Deer 
and  raccoon  skins  had  been  the  standard  of  ex- 
change, and  answered  every  need-.  Three  pounds 
of  shaved  deer  skin  was  considered  a  dollar. 

The  people  were  farmers  and  hunters  and  stock- 
men. They  raised  their  own  provisions  and  supplied 
most  of  their  own  wants.  Every  settler  was  his 
own  carpenter.  The  houses  were  mostly  log  cab- 
ins, with  no  glass,  nails,  hinges  or  locks.  The  fur- 
niture was  made  by  hand,  as  were  the  carts  and 
wagons,  yokes  for  the  oxen,  harness  for  the  horses. 
Though  they  were  often  rough  and  unrefined,  these 
pioneers  had  sterling  qualities ;  they  were  brave  and 
energetic  and  hospitable. 

Nearly  all  of  the  immigrants  had  come  to  this 
new  country  to  acquire  some  property.  But  among 
them  were  adventurers  and  fugitives  from  justice. 
For  a  year  or  two  the  state  was  overrun  with  bands 
of  horse  thieves,  so  numerous  and  so  well  organized 
that  they  defied  the  authority  of  the  law.  Indeed, 
many  of  the  police,  the  sheriffs  and  justices  of  the 
peace,  even  some  judges,  were  connected  with  the 
thieves.  If  they  were  arrested  they  would  be  let 
off  by  some  friends  on  the  jury  or  through  false 
witnesses.  In  one  county  the  rogues,  by  voting  all 
one  way,  even  elected  their  own  sheriff!7 

Finally  the  citizens  became  so  enraged  that  they 


80  ILLINOIS 

organized  companies  called  "regulators."  Despair- 
ing of  enforcing  the  laws  in  the  customary  way, 
judges,  and  even  the  governor,  gave  them  every 
possible  encouragement  unofficially.  Armed,  the 
regulators  would  assemble  at  night,  march  to  a 
thief's  house,  arrest  him,  thrash  him  soundly  and 
expel  him  from  the  state.  And  gradually  Illinois 
was  rid  of  the  scoundrels. 

The  courts  were  very  simple.  The  people  did  not 
require  the  judges  to  be  men  of  great  learning,  but 
of  good  common  sense.  Court  was  held  in  a  log 
house,  in  a  store  or  an  inn,  with  temporary  seats 
for  judge,  lawyers  and  jurors.  At  the  opening  of 
the  first  circuit  court  held  by  Judge  Reynolds,  who 
was  afterward  governor  of  the  state,  the  sheriff, 
sitting  astride  a  rude  bench,  called  out,  "Boys,  come 
in — our  John  is  going  to  hold  court." 

And  another  judge  said  to  the  lawyers,  asking 
for  instructions  to  the  jury,  "Why,  gentlemen,  the 
jury  understand  the  case.  No  doubt  they  will  do 
justice  between  the  parties."8 

Some  of  the  legislators  were  simple,  uneducated 
men.  One  of  them,  John  Grammar,  was  chosen  first 
to  the  territorial,  then  to  the  state  legislature,  for 
nearly  twenty  years.  When  first  elected,  being  ut- 
terly destitute  of  civilized  clothing,  he  and  his  sons 
gathered  a  large  quantity  of  hickory  nuts  which  they 
traded  for  blue  strouding.  The  women  of  the  neigh- 


Pioneer  Life  in  the  West. 

Type  of  early  Illinois  cabin  dweller's  home 


Preparing  a  meal  over  the  camp  fire 


IIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 


EARLY  YEARS  OF  STATEHOOD  81 

borhood  met  to  make  up  the  garments  he  needed, 
but'  found  that  he  had  picked  too  few  nuts.  In  every 
possible  way  they  tried  the  pattern.  The  cloth  was 
too  scant!  So  they  made  a  bob-tailed  coat  and  a 
long  pair  of  leggings,  and  arrayed  in  these  he  ap- 
peared at  Kaskaskia,  and  patiently  waited  for  the 
passing  of  a  bill  for  the  members'  salaries.  Then 
he  set  out  to  buy  a  pair  of  fashionable  "unmention- 
ables." 

Here  is  the  speech  of  an  early  candidate : 

"Fellow  citizens,  I  offer  myself  as  a  candidate 
before  you  for  the  office  of  governor.  I  do  not  pre- 
tend to  be  a  man  of  extraordinary  talents;  nor  do 
I  claim  to  be  equal  to  Julius  Caesar  or  Napoleon 
Bonaparte,  nor  yet  to  as  great  a  man  as  my  oppo- 
nent, Governor  Edwards.  Nevertheless,  I  think  I 
can  govern  you  pretty  well.  I  do  not  think  it  will 
require  a  very  extraordinary  smart  man  to  govern 
you;  for  to  tell  you  the  truth,  fellow  citizens,  I  do 
not  believe  you  will  be  very  hard  to  govern,  no 
how."9 

But  Ninian  Edwards,  who  had  been  governor  of 
Illinois  Territory,  arrayed  in  his  broadcloth  coat, 
ruffled  shirt  and  high-topped  boots,  made  his  canvass 
over  the  state,  traveling  in  his  carriage  or  on  horse- 
back attended  by  his  colored  servant.  His  friends 
feared  people  would  be  driven  away  by  his  aristo- 
cratic appearance.  But  this  attracted  them,  and  they 


82  ILLINOIS 

thought  it  an  honor  to  support  "such  a  high-toned, 
elegant  old  gentleman."  So  Edwards  was  elected, 
for  in  that  early  day  personal  considerations  counted 
as  all-important  with  the  voters. 

The  legislature  re-enacted  the  territorial  laws, 
with  all  the  old  punishments.  But  until  1827  they 
were  changed  at  every  session,  and  men  said  it  was 
"a  good  thing  that  the  Holy  Scriptures  did  not  have 
to  come  before  the  legislature,  for  that  body  would 
be  certain  to  alter  or  amend  them,  so  that  no  one 
could  tell  what  was  or  was  not  the  word  of  God, 
any  more  than  could  be  told  what  was  or  was  not 
the  law  of  the  state."10 

The  very  word  tax  was  odious  to  the  people; 
and  when  a  bill  was  passed  levying  a  tax  on  prop- 
erty, to  support  the  schools  and  repair  the  roads, 
it  was  promptly  repealed.  For  men  said  they'd 
rather  work  on  the  roads  themselves  and  let  their 
children  grow  up  in  ignorance! 

Indeed,  the  people  were  parsimonious  with  state 
funds.  In  1824  provision  was  made  for  five  cir- 
cuit judges,  to  receive  six  hundred  dollars  a  year, 
while  the  supreme  court  judges  were  to  have  eight 
hundred.  This  was  considered  a  most  extravagant 
outlay  of  public  moneys,  practically  pensioning  the 
supreme  court  judges.  And  such  a  clamor  was 
raised  that  the  next  legislature  repealed  the  act  and 


EARLY  YEARS  OF  STATEHOOD  83 

ordered   the   supreme   court  judges  to   hold   both 
courts. 

Would  you  like  to  read  more  about  these  early 
days  ?  George  Flower,  when  an  old  man,  wrote  the 
story  of  the  English  colony  in  Edwards  County.  It 
is  full  of  picturesque  descriptions  of  scenes  and 
events,  of  the  struggles  and  labors  of  the  early  set- 
tlers. You  will  especially  enjoy  his  account  of  their 
journey  on  horseback  from  Pittsburgh  to  Vincennes 
and  the  ever-receding  prairies;  of  how  Albion  was 
located;  of  their  blooded  English  cattle  and  sheep; 
of  the  pioneer  churches  and  the  camp  meeting;  and 
the  beauty  of  the  prairies  in  different  seasons. 

In  other  books  you  may  read  of  interesting  types 
among  the  early  settlers  :  the  Yankees,  cordially  dis- 
liked in  the  southern  part  of  the  state;  the  Irish 
school-teacher;  the  singing  master;  the  circuit-rid- 
ing lawyers ;  and  the  pioneer  missionaries,  like  John 
Mason  Peck  and  the  eccentric  Peter  Cartright. 


XII 

SLAVE  OR  FREE? 

YOU  remember  that  the  ordinance  of  1787  ex- 
pressly states  that  there  should  be  no  slavery 
in  the  Northwest  Territory  ?  But  the  question  came 
up  constantly.  Settlers  from  the  southern  states, 
coming  into  Illinois,  were  allowed  to  bring  their 
slaves  with  them.  The  constitution  prohibited  the 
further  introduction  of  slaves,  but  "indentured  serv- 
ants" could  be  held  for  the  whole  term  of  their  con- 
tracts— and  this  was  generally  ninety-nine  years!1 

And  in  1819  the  legislature  passed  the  famous 
"black  laws,"  which  were  not  repealed  until  1865. 
No  negro  could  settle  in  the  state  unless  he  had  a 
certificate -of  freedom  with  the  court's  seal;  and  this 
he  must  register  in  the  county  where  he  proposed 
to  live.  This  was  to  discourage  free  blacks  from 
coming  to  Illinois.  Every  negro  without  this  cer- 
tificate was  considered  a  runaway  slave.  To  har- 
bor a  fugitive  slave,  or  hinder  his  owner  from  re- 
taking him,  was  punished  by  a  heavy  fine  and  thirty 
stripes ! 

But  the  most  odious  feature  of  this  law  was  that 

84 


SLAVE   OR   FREE?  85 

no  adequate  provision  was  made  for  punishing  kid- 
nappers. Capturing  free  blacks,  running  them  south, 
and  there  selling  them  into  slavery  was  for  years 
a  common  crime;  and  southern  Illinois  afforded  a 
safe  retreat  for  the  kidnappers,  who  made  this  a 
regular  business,  profitable  and  almost  respectable. 
Thus  the  free  state  of  Illinois  was  given  a  com- 
plete slave  code,2  as  severe  as  in  any  southern  state, 
where  the  number  of  negroes  equaled  or  was  greater 
than  the  number  of  whites — while  in  Illinois  the 
slaves  made  up  a  very  small  percentage  of  the  pop- 
ulation. 

The  question  of  slavery  was  uppermost  then  all 
over  the  country,  because  of  the  frenzied  agitation 
when  Missouri  was  admitted  to  the  Union.  The 
Missouri  compromise  line,  which,  it  was  hoped, 
would  settle  the  question  forever,  was  in  fact  sug- 
gested by  an  Illinois  senator.  The  new  state  on  the 
west  was  well  advertised  by  this  nation-wide  discus- 
sion, and  many  people  from  the  southern  states  emi- 
grated there,  often  from  the  wealthiest  and  best- 
educated  classes.  For  some  time  there  had  been 
comparatively  few  new  settlers  in  Illinois,  and  few 
sales  of  land. 

"Many  of  our  people  who  had  farms  to  sell  looked 
upon  the  good  fortune  of  Missouri  with  envy ;  whilst 
the  lordly  immigrant,  as  he  passed  along  with  his 
money  and  droves  of  negroes,  took  a  malicious 


86  ILLINOIS 

pleasure  in  increasing  it,  by  pretending  to  regret 
the  short-sighted  policy  of  Illinois,  which  excluded 
him  from  settling  with  his  slaves  among  us,  and 
from  purchasing  the  lands  of  our  people."3 

Even  uneducated  immigrants  argued  in  the  same 
way.  One  of  them,  asked  why  he  did  not  stop  in 
Illinois,  replied,  "Well,  sir,  your  sile  is  mighty  far- 
til,  but  a  man  can't  own  niggers  here ;  gol  durn  ye."4 

Governor  Coles,  who  had  freed  his  negroes  on 
the  journey  from  Virginia  to  Illinois,  urged  the  leg- 
islature to  revise  the  "black  laws,"  to  emancipate 
the  old  French  slaves,  and  to  punish  kidnapping  ade- 
quately. These  paragraphs  in  his  message  were 
enough  to  fan  into  a  t>laze  the  embers  that  had  been 
smoldering.  The  slave  owners  determined  to  legal- 
ize slavery  in  Illinois. 

Now  this  meant  a  complicated  procedure — it  was 
necessary  to  amend  the  constitution  in  a  convention 
called  for  that  purpose.  The  people  must  vote 
whether  the  convention  should  be  called  or  not,  and 
a  two-thirds  majority  in  both  houses  of  the  legisla- 
ture was  necessary  to  submit  the  question  to  the 
people. 

Now  the  legislature  was  strongly  pro-slavery,  and 
the  resolution  was  sure  of  a  two-thirds  vote  in  the 
senate.  But  only  a  trick  passed  it  in  the  house  of 
representatives.  In  one  of  the  northern  counties 
there  had  been  a  contested  election,  and  the  house 


SLAVE   OR   FREE?  87 

decided  the  matter,  seating  one  of  the  two  claimants. 
But  some  nine  weeks  later  the  slavery  party  found 
that  they  needed  one  more  vote  to  make  a  two- 
thirds  majority  for  the  convention.  Desperate,  they 
determined  to  have  this  contested  election  reconsid- 
ered and  seat  the  other  man.  In  gratitude  to  their 
party  for  putting  him  into  the  legislature  he  would, 
of  course,  vote  their  way. 

This  scheme  they  actually  carried  out,  unseating 
a  representative  who  had  served  more  than  two 
months  of  his  term,  and  sending  a  special  messenger 
over  a  hundred  miles  to  notify  his  opponent,  created 
a  member  of  the  house  for  this  one  purpose.  With 
relays  of  horses,  the  new  representative  made  the 
trip  in  four  days,  arriving  in  time  to  vote  for  the 
convention  resolution,  which  was  thus  carried.5 
Against  this  outrage  there  was  a  storm  of  protest, 
for  the  manner  in  which  it  was  done,  for  the  ob- 
ject for  which  it  was  done.  It  proved  to  be  a  strong 
argument  to  plague  its  inventors.  When  the  elec- 
tion took  place  it  recoiled  on  their  own  heads  like 
a  boomerang. 

The  passing  of  the  convention  resolution  the 
slavery  party  considered  equal  to  a  victory  at  the 
polls.  Public  dinners  were  held,  with  toasts  wel- 
coming slavery  to  Illinois.  They  celebrated  with  a 
torchlight  procession  in  Vandalia.  The  mob,  wild 
and  indecorous,  marched  to  the  residence  of  Gov- 


88  ILLINOIS 

ernor  Coles,  with  all  the  horrid  paraphernalia  of 
the  old-time  charivari,  thus  described  by  Ford: 

"The  night  after  the  resolution  passed,  the  con- 
vention party  assembled  to  triumph  in  a  great  ca- 
rousal. They  formed  themselves  into  a  noisy,  dis- 
orderly and  tumultuous  procession,  headed  by" 
— and  he  calls  the  leaders  by  name — "followed  by 
the  majority  of  the  legislature,  and  the  hangers-on 
and  rabble  about  the  seat  of  government;  and  they 
marched  with  the  blowing  of  tin  horns  and  the  beat- 
ing of  drums  and  tin  pans,  to  the  residence  of  Gov- 
ernor Coles,  and  to  the  boarding-houses  of  their 
principal  opponents,  toward  whom  they  manifested 
their  contempt  and  displeasure  by  a  confused  medley 
of  groans,  wailings  and  lamentations.  Their  object 
was  to  intimidate  and  crush  all  opposition  at  once."6 

The  anti-convention  party,  defeated  in  the  leg- 
islature, was  determined  to  win  before  the  people. 
Fortunately,  voices  could  not  be  stifled,  as  in  the 
house  of  representatives,  where  all  debate  was  shut 
off.  And  the  election  was  eighteen  months  away, 
giving  the  "friends  of  freedom"  time  to  make  a 
thorough  canvass  throughout  the  state,  and  save  Il- 
linois from  this  shame  and  disaster. 

Never  was  there  such  a  campaign !  Newspapers 
were  established  for  one  side  or  the  other.  Fiery 
handbills  and  pamphlets  were  printed  and  circu- 
lated broadcast  in  every  county.  The  governor 


SLAVE    OR    FREE?  89 

worked  whole-heartedly  against  the  convention  with 
all  his  official  and  personal  influence,  giving  his  en- 
tire salary  to  the  cause.  The  pioneer  preacher,  Peck, 
organized  anti-slavery  societies  along  with  his  Sun- 
day-schools, distributing  Bibles  and  tracts  crusading 
against  slavery.  Ministers  and  teachers  helped. 
Stump  speakers  held  forth.  The  rank  and  file  of  the 
people  did  scarcely  anything  but  read  handbills  and 
papers,  and  wrangle  and  argue  constantly,  while 
industry  was  almost  at  a  standstill.7 

The  convention  party  had  on  its  side  many  of 
the  ablest  men  in  the  state.  But  a  great  cause  will 
produce  earnest  and  effective  leaders.  The  anti- 
slavery  men  were  better  organized  and  made  up  for 
their  Jack  of  wealth  and  influence  and  talents  in 
energy  and  zeal.  They  made  direct  attacks  on  the 
merits  of  slavery,  while  their  opponents  avoided  the 
issue,  saying  that  the  constitution  needed  changes 
in  several  particulars;  and  if  slavery  was  established 
it  would  doubtless  be  for  a  limited  number  of  years. 
The  people  and  the  state  were  financially  embar- 
rassed, and  they  painted  golden  pictures  of  the  pros- 
perity which  would  come  with  slave  labor.8 

These  arguments — religious,  benevolent,  political, 
expedient — were  answered  by  Peck  and  Coles  and 
Birkbeck,  the  founder  of  the  Edwards  County  col- 
ony. He  was  the  financier  of  the  "friends  of  free- 
dom," and  wrote  constantly  against  slavery.  Some- 


90  ILLINOIS 

times  he  would  issue  a  scholarly  paper,  with  telling 
arguments  and  statistics  showing  the  actual  results 
of  slavery  in  other  states  and  countries,  how  it 
checked  immigration  and  impeded  manufacturing 
and  hurt  agriculture.  Again,  under  the  nom  de 
plume  of  Jonathan  Freeman,  he  would  write  to  the 
newspapers  a  letter  so  simple  and  full  of  such 
homely  illustrations  that  the  most  ignorant  voter 
could  not  fail  to  understand  his  points.  Here  is  a 
part  of  one : 

"To  the  Editor  of  the  Illinois  Gazette: 

"SiR — I  am  a  poor  man ;  that  is  to  say  I  have  no 
money.  But  I  have  a  house  to  cover  me  and  the 
rest  of  us,  a  stable  for  my  horses,  and  a  little  barn, 
on  a  quarter  of  good  land  paid  up  at  the  land  office, 
with  a  middling  fine  clearing  upon  it  and  a  good 
fence.  I  have  about  thirty  head  of  cattle,  and  a 
good  chance  of  hogs;  and  by  the  labors  of  my  boys, 
we  make  a  shift  to  get  along.  We  help  our  neigh- 
bors, who  are  generally  as  poor  as  ourselves — some 
that  are  newcomers  are  not  so  well  fixed.  They 
help  us  in  turn;  and  as  it  is  the  fashion  to  be  in- 
dustrious, I  discover  that  we  are  all  by  degrees 
growing  wealthy,  not  in  money  to  be  sure,  but  in 
truck. 

"There  is  a  great  stir  among  the  land-jobbers  and 
politicians  to  get  slaves  into  the  country;  because, 
as  they  say,  we  are  in  great  distress ;  and  I  have  been 
thinking  how  it  would  act  with  me  and  my  neigh- 


SLAVE   OR   FREE?  91 

bors  .  .  .  four  citizens  out  of  five  in  the  state. 
I  have  already  seen  people  from  Kentucky,  and  some 
of  the  neighbors  have  been  traveling  in  that  country. 
They  all  agree  in  one  story,  that  the  Kentuckians 
are  as  bad  off  for  money  as  we,  some  say  worse. 
People  that  have  been  to  New  Orleans  say  it  is  the 
same  all  down  the  river ;  no  money.  ...  I  don't 
see  how  those  slave-gentry  are  to  make  it  plenty, 
unless  sending  more  produce  to  New  Orleans  would 
raise  the  price;  as  to  our  neighbors,  give  me  plain 
farmers,  working  with  their  own  hands,  or  the 
hands  of  free  workmen.  Not  great  planters  and 
their  negroes;  for  negroes  are  middling  light-fin- 
gered, and  I  suspect  we  should  have  to  lock  up  our 
cabins  when  we  left  home,  and  if  we  were  to  leave 
our  linen  out  all  night,  we  might  chance  to  miss  it 
in  the  morning.  The  planters  are  great  men,  and 
will  ride  about  mighty  grand,  with  umbrellas  over 
their  heads,  when  I  and  my  boys  are  working  per- 
haps bareheaded  in  the  hot  sun.  Neighbors  indeed ! 
They  would  have  it  all  their  own  way,  and  rule 
over  us  like  little  kings;  we  should  have  fo  patrol 
round  the  country  to  keep  their  negroes  under,  in- 
stead of  minding  our  own  business;  but  if  we 
lacked  to  raise  a  building,  or  a  dollar,  never  a  bit 
would  they  help  us. 

"This  is  what  I  have  been  thinking,  and  so  I  sus- 
pect we  all  think,  but  they  who  want  to  sell  out; 
and  they  that  want  to  sell,  will  find  themselves  mis- 
taken if  they  expect  the  Kentuckians  to  buy  their 
improvements,  when  they  can  get  Congress-land  at 
a  dollar  and  a  quarter  an  acre.  It  is  men  who  come 


92  ILLINOIS 

from  Free  states,  with  money  in  their  pockets,  and 
no  workhands  about  them,  that  buy  improvements. 
"Yours,  JONATHAN  FREEMAN."9 

Election  day,  the  first  Monday  in  August,  1824, 
finally  came.  The  aged,  the  crippled,  the  chronic 
invalids,  everybody  that  could  be  carried  to  the 
polls,  was  brought  in  to  cast  his  vote,  for  or  against 
the  convention.  The  ballots  more  than  doubled  the 
number  at  the  presidential  election  a  few  months 
later.  The  result  was  a  majority  of  some  sixteen 
hundred  against  the  convention.  This  was  the  most 
important,  the  most  excited  and  angry  election  in 
the  early  history  of  the  state.  But  it  was  regarded 
as  final.  Once  for  all  the  question  of  slavery  was 
settled  for  Illinois. 

If  you  are  interested  in  this  chapter  and  want  to 
know  more  about  the  slavery  campaign  in  Illinois, 
read  Washburne's  Sketch  of  Edward  Coles.  Flow- 
er's story  of  the  English  settlement  in  Edwards 
County  gives  a  fine  account  of  Birkbeck's  share  in 
carrying  the  election  for  the  "friends  of  freedom." 


XIII 

A    DISTINGUISHED   GUEST 

A  PLEAS  ANT  episode  occurred  in  1825  to  vary 
the  monotony  of  western  life.    Lafayette,  the 
brilliant  young  Frenchman  who  fought  under  Wash- 
ington in  the  Revolution,  paid  a  second  visit  to 
America,  as  the  guest  of  the  nation. 

As  soon  as  he  reached  New  York  the  legislature 
sent  him  an  address  of  welcome,  and  earnestly  in- 
vited him  to  visit  Illinois.  With  their  letter  was 
sent  an  affectionate  note  from  Governor  Coles,  who 
had  known  Lafayette  in  Paris;  and  the  Frenchman 
replied  from  Washington : 

"It  has  ever  been  my  eager  desire,  and  it  is  now 
my  earnest  intention,  to  visit  the  western  States 
and  particularly  the  State  of  Illinois.  The  feelings 
which  your  distant  welcome  could  not  fail  to  excite 
have  increased  that  patriotic  eagerness.  ...  I 
shall,  after  the  celebration  of  the  22d  of  February 
anniversary  day,  leave  this  place  for  a  journey  to 
the  southern,  and  from  New  Orleans  to  the  western 
states,  so  as  to  return  to  Boston  on  the  14th  of  June, 
when  the  cornerstone  of  Bunker's  Hill  monument 

93 


94  ILLINOIS 

is  to  be  laid,  a  ceremony  sacred  to  the  whole  Union, 
and  in  which  I  have  been  engaged  to  act  a  peculiar 
and  honorable  part."1 

The  whole  journey  was  a  series  of  receptions  and 
ovations,  of  which  his  secretary  kept  a  charming 
record,  writing  "that  he  gives  the  details  of  a  tri- 
umph which  honors  as  well  the  nation  which  be- 
stowed it  as  the  man  who  received  it."  But  as  La- 
fayette's trip  progressed  he  found  it  impossible  to 
visit  all  the  places  that  were  inviting  him  and  re- 
turn to  Boston  in  June.  So  in  April  he  writes  to 
Governor  Coles,  from  New  Orleans : 

"I  don't  doubt  that  by  rapid  movements,  can 
gratify  my  ardent  desire  to  see  every  one  of  the 
Western  States,  and  yet  to  fulfill  a  sacred  duty  as  the 
representative  of  the  Revolutionary  Army,  on  the 
half  secular  jubilee  of  Bunker  Hill.  But  to  do  it, 
my  dear  sir,  I  must  avail  myself  of  the  kind,  indul- 
gent proposal  made  by  several  friends  to  meet  me 
on  some  point  near  the  river,  in  the  State  of  Illinois. 
...  I  will  say,  could  Kaskaskia  or  Shawneetown 
suit  you  to  pass  one  day  with  me  ?  I  expect  to  leave 
St.  Louis  on  the  29th  of  April.  .  .  .  Excuse  the 
hurry  of  my  writing,  as  the  post  is  going,  and  re- 
ceive in  this  private  letter,  for  indeed  to  the  Gov- 
ernor, I  would  not  know  how  to  apologize  for  so 
polite  proposals,  receive,  I  say,  my  high  and  affec- 
tionate regard.  LAFAYETTE."2 


95 

Accordingly  Illinois  received  the  great  French 
general,  not  at  Vandalia,  the  capital,  but  at  Kas- 
kaskia.  Writes  the  secretary: 

"It  was  decided  that  we  should  stop  at  Kaskaskia, 
a  large  village  of  that  state,  and  although  nearly 
eighty  miles  distant,  we  arrived  there  a  little  while 
before  noon,  so  fortunate  and  rapid  was  our  navi- 
gation. Since  the  application  of  steam  to  naviga- 
tion, the  changes  produced  in  the  relations  of  the 
towns  on  the  Mississippi  is  prodigious.  Formerly 
the  voyage  from  New  Orleans  to  St.  Louis  required 
three  or  four  months  of  the  most  painful  toil  that 
can  be  imagined;  the  action  of  the  oar  was  not  al- 
ways sufficient  to  overcome  the  resistance  of  the 
current.  They  were  often  obliged  to  warp  the  boat 
by  hand,  advancing  from  time  to  time  with  a  small 
boat  to  tie  a  rope  to  a  tree  or  stone  on  the  shore. 
...  At  present  the  same  passage,  which  is  nearly 
fifteen  hundred  miles,  is  made  in  ten  days,  without 
fatigue."8 

The  Illinois  legislature  had  appropriated  $6,475 
for  the  entertainment  of  the  guests,  almost  a  third 
of  the  state's  income  for  the  year.  About  noon, 
April  thirtieth,  the  boat,  gaily  decorated  for  the  oc- 
casion, arrived  at  the  wharf  in  Kaskaskia.  Governor 
Coles  had  sent  his  aid-de-camp,  Colonel  William 
Stephen  Hamilton,  "the  son  of  your  old  and  particu- 
lar friend,  Alexander  Hamilton,"  to  meet  Lafayette 
en  route,  and  himself  joined  the  party  in  St.  Louis. 


96  ILLINOIS 

Evidently  there  was  no  way  to  notify  the  village  of 
their  coming,  so  that  the  success  of  this  impromptu 
reception  is  the  more  remarkable. 

"General  Lafayette  was  not  expected  at  Kaskas- 
kia,  and  nothing  had  been  prepared  for  this  unfore- 
seen visit.  While  we  were  landing  some  one  ran  to 
the  village,  which  stands  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from 
the  shore,  and  quickly  returned  with  a  carriage  for 
the  general,  who,  an  instant  after,  was  surrounded 
by  many  citizens,  who  ran  before  to  receive  him.  In 
the  escort  which  formed  itself  to  accompany  him 
we  saw  neither  military  apparel  nor  the  splendid 
triumphs  we  had  perceived  in  the  rich  cities;  but 
accents  of  joy  and  republican  gratitude  which  broke 
upon  his  ear,  was  grateful  to  his  heart.  .  .  .  We 
followed  the  general  on  foot,  and  arrived  almost  at 
the  same  time  at  the  house  of  General  Edgar,  a  ven- 
erable soldier  of  the  Revolution,  who  received  him 
with  affectionate  warmth,  and  ordered  all  the  doors 
to  be  kept  open,  that  his  fellow  citizens  might  enjoy, 
as  well  as  himself,  the  pleasure  of  shaking  hands 
with  the  adopted  son  of  America." 

A  great  multitude  of  patriotic  people  assembled. 
From  the  steps  of  the  Edgar  house  the  governor 
gave  an  address  of  welcome,  to  which  Lafayette  re- 
plied in  very  good  English,  expressing  their  grati- 
fication for  the  honor  done  them.  Men  who  were 
there  differ  widely  in  their  descriptions  of  the  hero; 


A   DISTINGUISHED    GUEST  97 

one  says  he  was  "tall  and  slender,  with  a  florid  com- 
plexion," another  "inclining  to  corpulency." 

"Age  had  bent  his  form  a  little,"  narrates  a  pio- 
neer, "but  he  was  still  gay  and  cheerful.  It  seemed 
that  his  lameness  added  to  his  noble  bearing,  as  it 
told  to  the  heart  the  story  of  the  Revolution."4  And 
another  comments :  "He  limped  slightly,  the  result 
of  a  wound  he  received  on  achieving  our  liberties, 
which  added  much  interest  to  his  character."  But 
he  was  still  the  courtly,  affable  French  nobleman, 
enthusiastic  for  liberty,  who  had  won  Washington's 
heart  half  a  century  before. 

"During  an  instance  of  profound  silence,"  writes 
the  secretary,  "I  cast  a  glance  at  the  assembly,  in 
the  midst  of  which  I  found  myself,  and  was  struck 
with  astonishment  in  remarking  their  variety  and 
fantastic  appearance.  Beside  men  whose  dignity  of 
countenance,  the  patriotic  exaltation  of  expression, 
readily  indicated  them  to  be  Americans,  were  others 
whose  coarse  dresses,  vivacity,  petulance  of  move- 
ment, and  the  expansive  joy  of  their  visages, 
strongly  recalled  to  me  the  peasantry  of  my  own 
country;  behind  these,  near  to  the  door,  and  on  the 
piazza  which  surrounded  the  house,  stood  some  im- 
movable, impassable,  large,  red,  half-naked  figures, 
leaning  on  a  bow  or  a  long  rifle ;  these  were  the  In- 
dians of  the  neighborhood." 

While  the  general  was  resting,  before  the  ban- 
quet, his  son  George  Washington  Lafayette  and  the 


98  ILLINOIS 

secretary  visited  the  encampment  of  the  Indians, 
come  to  Kaskaskia  for  the  yearly  sale  of  their  furs. 
The  record  gives  many  more  pages  to  their  interest 
in  the  red  men  than  to  the  Illinois  entertainment. 

But  we  do  know  that  there  was  a  public  reception, 
where  some  soldiers  who  had  fought  under  him  at 
Brandywine  and  Yorktown  advanced  from  the 
crowd  to  shake  hands  with  their  old  general.  Then 
came  a  dinner  at  the  tavern,  the  big,  square  banquet 
room  decorated  with  laurel,  while  the  guest  table 
had  a  rainbow  canopy  of  roses  and  other  flowers. 

Lafayette  proposed  this  toast  to  Kaskaskia  and 
Illinois :  "May  their  joint  prosperity  more  and  more 
evince  ^the  blessings  of  congenial  industry  and  free- 
dom." 

Governor  Coles  followed  with  one  to  the  inmates 
of  La  Grange  (Lafayette's  home  in  France)  :  "Let 
them  not  be  anxious ;  for  although  their  father  is  a 
thousand  miles  in  the  interior  of  America,  he  is  yet 
in  the  midst  of  his  affectionate  children." 

When  Ex-governor  Bond  proposed  "To  General 
Lafayette :  may  he  live  to  see  that  liberty  established 
in  his  native  country  which  he  helped  to  establish  in 
his  adopted  country,"  the  general  rose  and  observed 
that  he  would  drink  the  latter  part  of  the  toast 
standing.5 

Following  this  was  a  ball,  where  Lafayette  led  the 
grand  march  with  a  granddaughter  of  Pierre  Men- 


A   DISTINGUISHED    GUEST  99 

ard,  and  the  weary  visitors  left  at  midnight  on  their 
steamer.  This  ball  was  a  great  occasion;  women 
who  were  honored  with  an  invitation  preserved  as 
souvenirs  their  white  gloves,  the  slippers  in  which 
they  danced,  and  their  fans  with  the  hero's  picture. 

During  the  ball  an  uninvited  guest  arrived — an 
Indian  squaw  whose  father,  Louis  DuQuoin,  a  chief 
of  the  Six  Nations,  had  fought  under  Lafayette 
during  the  Revolution.  Hearing  that  the  great 
White  Chief  was  to  be  in  Kaskaskia,  she  came  to 
see  the  man  with  whose  name  she  had  been  familiar 
since  childhood.  To  identify  herself,  she  brought 
an  old  worn  letter  that  Lafayette  had  written  to  her 
father,  who  had  preserved  it  with  the  greatest  care 
and  had  bequeathed  it  to  her  as  a  most  precious 
legacy.6 

The  weekly  newspaper  published  in  Vandalia,  in 
its  last  issue  for  May,  1825,  reports  another  enter- 
tainment given  for  Lafayette  in  Illinois.  Going  up 
the  Ohio  River,  en  route  for  Pittsburgh,  the  party 
stopped  at  Shawneetown. 

"A  salute  of  twenty- four  rounds  was  fired  as  the 
Steam-Boat  approached  the  landing,"  reads  the  ac- 
count in  the  faded,  yellow  paper.  "The  citizens  of 
Shawneetown  and  the  neighboring  country  were 
then  formed  in  two  lines  extending  from  Mr.  Rawl- 
ings'  Hotel  to  the  water's  edge.  The  Committee  of 
Arrangement  and  the  Trustees  of  the  Town  passed 


100  ILLINOIS 

down  the  line  of  citizens  and  received  the 
NATION'S  GUEST  at  the  Steam-Boat.  ...  As 
he  passed  up  the  line,  the  citizens  uncovered  them- 
selves, and  observed  the  most  perfect  silence," 
while  little  girls  showered  flowers  upon  him. 

There  was  an  address  of  welcome,  the  orator  of 
the  day  comparing  their  reception  with  the  elaborate 
ceremony  of  other  places. 

"  'You  find  our  state  in  its  infancy,  our  country 
thinly  populated,  our  people  destitute  of  the  luxu- 
ries and  elegancies  of  life.  In  your  reception  we  de- 
part not  from  the  domestic  simplicity  of  a  seques- 
tered people.  We  erect  no  triumphal  arches,  we  offer 
no  exotic  delicacies.  We  receive  you  to  our  humble 
dwellings,  and  our  homely  fare.  .  .  .  We  take 
you  to  our  arms  and  our  hearts.' 

"The  reply  of  Lafayette  was  short  and  unpre- 
meditated, and  was  delivered  in  a  voice  which 
seemed  tremulous  rather  with  emotion  than  with 
age." 

After  the  reception,  a  collation  and  many  toasts, 

"General  Lafayette  was  conducted  to  the  Steam- 
Boat  by  the  Committee,  through  lines  formed  by  the 
citizens  as  before.  .  .  .  Another  salute  was  fired  at 
their  departure.  Throughout  the  whole  of  this  in- 
teresting scene  the  citizens  evinced  by  their  respect- 
ful and  kind  deportment  the  warmest  attachment 
for  the  person  and  the  most  exalted  veneration  for 


A   DISTINGUISHED    GUEST         101 

the  character  of  this  truly  great  man.  The  General, 
although  apparently  too  frail  to  support  the  fatigue 
of  such  an  interview,  received  the  congratulations 
of  the  people  with  ease  and  cheerfulness,  and  seemed 
to  be  deeply  touched  by  this  humble  though  sincere 
display  of  national  gratitude." 

The  book  written  by  Levasseur,  Lafayette's  sec- 
retary, is  very  rare;  but  the  tenth  and  twelfth  vol- 
umes of  the  Illinois  Historical  Society  have  the 
story  of  this  visit,  told  in  detail.  Davidson  and 
Stuve's  history  gives  it  an  interesting  chapter. 


XIV 

THE  CRAZE  FOR  IMPROVEMENTS 

WHEN  immigration  set  in  toward  Illinois  the 
settlers  from  the  eastern  states  brought 
money  with  them.  And  the  presence  of  money 
made  a  radical  change  in  the  condition  of  the  peo- 
ple. It  created  new  desires,  the  principal  one  being 
a  mad  wish  to  speculate  in  land.  The  national  gov- 
ernment charged  two  dollars  an  acre,  one- fourth  to 
be  paid  in  cash,  the  balance  in  five  years.  At  that 
price  everybody  was  eager  to  buy,  thinking  he  could 
sell  to  the  settlers  who  were  sure  to  arrive  and  thus 
make  a  handsome  profit.  This  they  called  "develop- 
ing the  infant  resources  of  a  new  country."1 

Paper  money  was  abundant.  Every  man's  credit 
was  good.  Property  rose  rapidly  in  value.  A  spirit 
of  speculation  was  rife.  Towns  were  laid  out,  on 
paper.  Lots  bought,  on  time.  Houses  built,  on 
promises.  Everybody  invested  to  the  limit  of  his 
credit,  expecting  to  make  a  fortune  before  his  notes 
fell  due.  Everybody  was  in  debt,  inextricably,  to 
everybody  else. 

102 


CRAZE    FOR    IMPROVEMENTS       103 

A  day  of  reckoning  was  coming,  before  their 
dreams  could  come  true.  Paper  towns '  failed  to 
flourish.  There  was  no  commerce  to  bring  money 
into  the  country.  Contracts,  wildly  entered  into,  ma- 
tured. When  the  notes  to  the  federal  government 
came  due,  people  could  not  pay  them. 

To  put  an  end  to  these  evils,  in  1821  the  legisla- 
ture created  a  state  bank,  whose  only  support  was 
the  credit  of  Illinois;  its  sole  capital,  plates  for  mak- 
ing paper  money.  And  paper  money  the  state  bank 
proceeded  to  make,  issuing  large  quantities  of  notes 
payable  in  ten  years.  The  bank  was  enormously 
popular  at  first,  for  it  loaned  to  any  citizen  a  hun- 
dred dollars  on  personal  property,  and  a  thousand 
on  real  estate.  People  imagined  because  the  state 
had  issued  these  notes  they  would  be  worth  par. 
They  could  be  used  for  taxes,  and  if  any  creditor 
refused  to  accept  them  he  must  wait  three  years  to 
collect  his  debt.2 

Thinking  that  laws  could  give  paper  money  a 
specified  value,  the  legislature  even  passed  a  resolu- 
tion that  these  notes  could  be  used  in  payment  for 
land  at  the  federal  office.  When  the  question  came 
up  in  the  senate,  the  lieutenant-governor,  the 
Frenchman  Menard,  said : 

"Gentlemen  of  de  senate,  it  is  moved  and  sec- 
onded dat  de  notes  of  dis  bank  be  made  land  office 
money.  All  in  favor  of  dat  motion  say  aye;  all 


104  ILLINOIS 

against  it,  say  no.  It  is  decided  in  de  affirmative. 
And  now;  gentlemen,  I  bet  you  $100  he  never  be 
made  land  office  money." 

And  he  never  was !  For  the  national  government 
accepted  only  cash. 

People  had  the  impression  that  paper  money 
could  be  made  to  supply  every  financial  want.  Soon 
notes  for  three  hundred  thousand  dollars  were  in 
circulation.  But  the  remedy  was  worse  than  the  dis- 
ease, the  new  bills  only  made  matters  worse.  Notes 
had  to  be  cut  in  halves  and  quarters  to  serve  as 
change,  for  there  was  no  specie  at  all.  Scarcely  had 
the  bank  begun  business  when  its  bills  fell  below  par 
— first  down  to  eighty,  then  down,  down,  down,  till 
it  took  three  dollars  to  buy  one  dollar's  worth  of 
goods.  Instead  of  increasing  its  income,  the  state 
had  to  spend  three  times  as  much  for  current  ex- 
penses 

In  1831  the  notes  came  due,  and  to  save  the  honor 
of  Illinois  a  large  loan  was  taken,  and  with  this 
money  the  notes  were  redeemed.  This  banking  folly 
cost  the  state  half  a  million  dollars,  but  her  financial 
standing  was  preserved.3 

Without  profiting  by  this  expensive  lesson,  the 
legislature  of  1835  chartered  a  new  state  bank,  in 
which  the  state  held  stock.  The  mania  for  land 
speculation,  asleep  for  a  time,  broke  out  with  re- 
newed strength.  It  commenced  at  Chicago,  and  in 


CRAZE   FOR   IMPROVEMENTS      105 

two  years  that  place  grew  from  a  village  of  a  few 
houses  to  a  city  of  several  thousand  people.  Quick 
fortunes  were  made,  their  stories  arousing  first 
amazement,  then  a  gambling  spirit  of  adventure, 
then  an  absorbing  desire  for  sudden  wealth. 
Throughout  the  state  this  example  spread.  Maps 
of  paper  towns  were  sent  to  Chicago  and  lots  for 
a  hundred  miles  around  were  auctioned  off.  Maps 
were  even  sent  to  New  York  and  Boston,  a  ship 
freighted  with  land  costing  less  than  a  barrel  of 
flour.  Indeed  there  was  said  to  be  a  danger  of 
crowding  the  state  with  towns  and  leaving  no  room 
for  farming! 

As  there  were  more  lots  than  could  be  sold,  men 
said  that  if  the  country  could  be  rapidly  settled,  they 
would  all  find  a  market;  and  to  attract  settlers,  the 
one  thing  needed  was  a  system  of  internal  improve- 
ments. Illinois  is  a  great  state,  ran  their  argument; 
rich  soil,  fine  climate,  great  extent  of  territory.  All 
she  needs  is  people  and  enterprise.  Improvements 
would  invite  both. 

And  this  was  not  confined  to  Illinois.  The  whole 
country  was  possessed  by  a  mania  for  improved 
transportation.  New  York  had  built  the  Erie  Canal ; 
Pennsylvania  miles  of  railroads;  Kentucky  macad- 
amized roads ;  Indiana  and  Illinois,  because  of  their 
level  surfaces,  went  in  for  railroads.  People  and 
legislators  alike  lost  their  heads,  and  surrendered 


106  ILLINOIS 

their  sober  judgment  to  arguments  of  the  wildest 
imaginations.  No  scheme  was  so  extravagant  that 
it  lacked  plausibility.  The  most  impossible  calcula- 
tions were  made  of  the  advantages  that  would  fol- 
low the  construction  of  these  improvements;  the 
state  had  resources  enough,  men  said,  to  meet  all 
expenditures.  All  debts  could  be  met  without  taxa- 
tion. Once  made,  they  would  pay  for  themselves; 
nay,  more,  in  time  they  would  provide  the  running 
expenses  of  the  state  !4 

The  legislature  voted  eight  million  dollars,  to  be 
used  for  railroads  in  various  parts  of  Illinois,  run- 
ning from  east  to  west,  north  to  south,  criss-cross 
back  and  forth,  a  total  of  thirteen  hundred  miles. 
Five  rivers  were  to  have  their  channels  deepened. 
And  finally  the  sum  of  two  hundred  thousand  dol- 
lars was  voted  to  those  counties  in  which  no  rail- 
roads were  to  be  built  or  no  rivers  improved.  As  a 
crowning  act  of  folly,  it  was  enacted  that  work- 
should  commence  on  all  the  roads,  at  each  end,  and 
from  the  crossings  of  all  the  rivers,  simultaneously ! 

This  wholesale  system  of  improvements  had  to  be 
adopted  in  order  to  get  any  one  voted  through. 
The  friends  of  the  canal  had  to  agree  to  the  others, 
to  succeed  with  their  measure.  Politicians  anxious 
to  move  the  capital  to  Springfield  would  support 
any  other  scheme  in  exchange  for  votes.  And  in 
this  way  each  section  of  the  state  was  won  over. 


CRAZE   FOR   IMPROVEMENTS      107 

Like  Napoleon  giving  away  thrones,  the  people 
voted  millions.  But  only  one  of  these  improve- 
ments was  ever  completed — a  little  railroad  fifty- 
one  miles  long,  of  no  advantage  to  the  state,  and  its 
income  was  not  enough  to  keep  it  in  repair.5 

The  next  legislature  not  only  refused  the  gov- 
ernor's suggestion  to  repeal  or  modify  the  system, 
but  actually  voted  an  additional  eight  hundred  thou- 
sand dollars.  And  for  three  years  the  infatuated 
people  of  Illinois  continued  this  ruinous  policy,  until 
the  whole  scheme  tumbled  about  their  ears.  In  the 
spring  of  1837  banks  throughout  the  United  States 
stopped  specie  payments,  including  banks  in  Illinois. 
It  was  a  period  of  national  hard  times.  The  loans 
made  by  the  state  could  not  be  obtained  at  par. 
Bonds  were  sold  on  credit.  A  London  firm,  agents 
for  the  bonds,  failed  and  the  state  lost  heavily.  Fin- 
ally the  people,  recovering  their  sanity,  were  aston- 
ished at  their  own  folly. 

Their  internal  improvement  system  was  discon- 
tinued. But  in  1841  Illinois  could  not  meet  the  in- 
terest charges  on  her  debt.  The  next  year  the  state 
bank  failed  and  completed  the  general  distress. 
There  was  a  debt  of  nearly  fourteen  millions.  The 
treasury  was  empty,  there  was  not  enough  money 
to  pay  postage  on  the  state's  letters.  Heavy  taxes 
would  only  drive  the  people  away.  Illinois  had  bor- 
rowed beyond  her  means  and  had  no  credit.  The 


108  ILLINOIS 

people  owed  the  merchants,  who  in  turn  owed  for- 
eign merchants  or  the  banks,  the  banks  owed  every- 
body, and  nobody  could  pay! 

The  state  must  repudiate  her  debt,  said  some. 
She  never  can  nor  will  pay.  Every  one  ought  to  see 
that  and  stop  discussing  it;  that  won't  charm  it 
away.  But  under  the  management  of  Governor 
Ford,  a  man  of  great  skill  and  integrity,  Illinois 
sold  some  of  her  lands,  received  back  her  bonds 
held  by  the  state  banks,  and  withdrew  from  circula- 
tion the  worthless  "bank  rags"  and  "wildcat 
money."6  The  affairs  of  the  bank  were  wound  up 
in  an  honorable  manner.  A  special  tax  was  levied 
for  interest  charges.  And  in  three  months'  time  the 
credit  of  the  state  was  so  good  that  it  was  possible 
to  sell  a  new  issue  of  canal  bonds.  But  the  people, 
like  France  with  John  Law's  scheme,  paid  dearly 
for  their  lesson  in  high  finance.  Forty  years  later 
they  redeemed  the  last  of  these  bonds ! 

To  make  impossible  a  repetition  of  these  financial 
troubles,  the  revised  constitution  of  1848  greatly 
curtailed  the  power  of  the  legislature.7  It  could 
pledge  the  credit  of  Illinois  to  the  amount  of  fifty 
thousand  dollars,  for  state  expenses  only.  It  could 
not  create  a  state  bank.  The  strictest  economy  was 
insisted  on  in  the  matter  of  salaries,  the  sum  for 
each  being  fixed  at  a  stated  amount  "and  no  more." 
Even  the  length  of  the  legislature's  session  was 


CRAZE   FOR   IMPROVEMENTS      109 

fixed,  but  these  provisions  proved  a  false  economy 
and  as  time  went  on  they  were  notoriously  evaded. 
The  governor's  salary,  for  example,  was  one  thou- 
sand five  hundred  dollars,  so  an  additional  four 
thousand  five  hundred  dollars  was  voted  him  "for 
fuel  and  lights  for  the  executive  mansion."  Only 
the  letter  of  the  law  was  kept,  and  these  abuses 
sapped  the  integrity  of  the  public  service  and  les- 
sened respect  for  the  laws.  In  1870  the  constitution 
was  again  revised,  "by  the  finest  deliberative  body 
that  ever  sat  in  a  state,"  and  this  penurious  system 
changed. 

To  two  of  her  early  governors  Illinois  owes  a 
great  debt:  to  Edward  Coles,  who  kept  her  free 
from  the  blight  of  slavery;  and  to  Thomas  Ford, 
who  brought  her  out  of  her  distress  and  maintained 
her  financial  integrity  without  repudiation.  Each 
of  them  so  fully  and  so  decisively  met  the  situation 
that  pro-slavery  men  and  repudiators  never  raised 
the  question  again. 


XV 


THE   BLACK    HAWK    WAR 

IN  1804  William  Henry  Harrison  made  a  treaty 
with  the  Sacs  and  Pox  Tndians",  giving  the  Amer- 
icans a  tract  of  land  near  Rock  River.  The  red  men 
were  to  have  the  use  of  it  until  it  was  sold  to  indi- 
viduals. This  was  confirmed  by  later  treaties  in 
1815,  '19,  '22  and  '25.  But  one  of  the  Sac  chiefs, 
Black  Hawk,  said,  like  Tecumseh,  that  the  treaty 
had  been  made  without  the  consent  of  all  the  tribe, 
and  was  not  binding.1 

The  whites,  he  insisted,  "squatted"  on  the  In- 
dians' lands  and  tried  to  steal  their  village.  When 
they  returned  from  the  winter's  hunt,  they  found 
the  Americans  had  practically  taken  possession  of 
their  fields,  had  burned  many  of  their  lodges,  and 
even  plowed  up  their  graveyards.  The  land  is  ours, 
said  Black  Hawk,  establishing  himself  on  the  ter- 
ritory in  dispute  with  a  party  of  warriors;  and  if 
any  one  must  withdraw,  it  must  be  the  interloping 
whites. 

The  forty  settlers  accordingly  appealed  to  Gov- 

110 


THE   BLACK    HAWK   WAR          111 

ernor  Reynolds,  who  called  out  seven  hundred  of 
tHe  militia  and  asked  the  cooperation  of  the  regular 
army  as  well.  Double  the  number  of  volunteers  re- 
ported for  duty;  some  thirsting  to  avenge  their 
losses  from  Indian  raids,  some  eager  for  excitement 
and  adventure,  some  anticipating  plunder,  others 
with  whom  money  was  scarce,  delighted  with  the 
promise  of  a  large  expenditure  of  gold  by  the  gov- 
ernment: Twenty-five  hundred  soldiers  appeared  at 
Saukenuk,  the  principal  Indian  village.  But  Black 
Hawk,  who  had  only  three  hundred  men,  slipped 
away  in  the  night  and  crossed  the  Mississippi.  The 
Americans  burned  the  deserted  town  and  announced 
that  the  fugitives  would  be  pursued.  This  had  the 
desired  effect  of  bringing  Black  Hawk  to  the  gen- 
eral's headquarters,  where  he  signed  an  agreement 
to  stay  on  the  west  side  of  the  Mississippi. 

The  Indians  were  promised  corn,  to  make  up  for 
the  abandoned  fields.  Many  of  the  soldiers  ridiculed 
this,  calling  it  a  corn  treaty,  and  said,  "We  give 
them  food  when  it  should  have  been  lead."2  The 
winter's  supply  was  not  sufficient,  however,  and  a 
new  series  of  troubles  began  immediately.  Black 
Hawk  briefly  described  it,  years  later :  "In  this  state 
of  things,  the  Indians  went  over  the  river  to  steal 
corn  from  their  own  land."  In  April,  1832,  the 
tribe  crossed  the  Mississippi,  and  the  war  was  on 
again. 


112  ILLINOIS 

_  Governor  Rejmolds  called  out  the  troops — militia, 
rangers  and  some  companies  of  the  regular  army 
under  Zachary  Taylor,  In  the  volunteer  regiments 
E.  D.  Baker  was  a  lieutenant,  and  Abraham  Lin- 
""coETa  captain,  re-enlisting  as  a  "private  horseman." 
This  was  the  frontier  method  of  selecting  a  captain, 
as  described  by  Lincoln:  each  candidate  made  a 
speech  to  the  men,  telling  how  gallant  he  was,  in 
what  wars  he  had  fought,  bled  and  died,  and  how 
he  was  ready  to  lead  them  to  glory.  And  when  the 
speech-making  was  over,  the  soldiers  formed  in  line 
behind  their  favorite.  The  fellow  who  had  the  long- 
est tail  to  his  kite  was  elected  captain.  It  was  a 
good  way,  no  chance  for  a  stuffed  ballot  box  or  a 
false  count  !s 

"I  can  not  tell  you,"  said  Lincoln,  nearly  twenty 
years  later,  "how  much  the  idea  of  being  the  cap- 
tain of  that  company  pleased  me!"  And  while  he 
was  president  he  referred  to  it  again  as  "a  success 
which  gave  me  more  pleasure  than  any  I  have  had 
since."4 

One  day  when  Lincoln  was  drilling  his  men  they 
were  marching  across  a  field,  twenty  abreast,  and 
the  captain  saw  a  fence  ahead.  "I  could  not  for  the 
life  of  me  remember  the  proper  word  of  command 
for  getting  my  company  endwise  so  that  I  could 
get  them  through  the  gate,  so  as  we  came  near  I 
shouted  'Halt !  This  company  is  dismissed  for  two 


Stephen  A.  Douglas 


THE    BLACK    HAWK    WAR          113 

minutes,  when  it  will  fall  in  again  on  the  other  side 
of  the  fence.  Break  ranks !' ' 

Among  the  regular  soldiers  were  two  young 
lieutenants,  Jefferson  Davis  and  Robert  Anderson, 
the  latter  detailed  as  inspector-general  of  the  Illi- 
nois militia.  Nearly  thirty  years  later__Lincoln  met 
Anderson  in  Washington.  After  the  president  had 
thanked  him  for  his  gallant  conduct  at  Fort  Sumter, 
he  asked : 

"  'Major,  do  you  remember  of  ever  meeting  me 
before?' 

"  'No,  Mr.  President,  I  have  no  recollection  of 
ever  having  had  the  pleasure  before/ 

"  'My  memory  is  better  than  yours,'  said  Lincoln ; 
'you  mustered  me  into  the  service  of  the  United 
States,  in  1832,  at  Dixon's  Ferry,  in  the  Black 
Hawk  war.'  "5 

Besides  these  troops  for  service  against  the  In- 
dians, there  were  two  hundred  and  seventy-five 
rangers  under  Stillman,  an  independent  force  who 
refused  to  fight  under  the  main  body,  but  begged  for 
some  dangerous  service.  They  were  ordered  up 
Rock  River  to  spy  out  the  enemy.  Encamping  at 
sundown,  they  saw  five  Indians  on  a  mound  at  a 
distance.  Without  orders  or  a  commander,  some 
men  whose  horses  were  not  yet  unsaddled  gave 
chase.  The  others  followed  in  confusion,  stringing 
along  for  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  pursuing  the  red  men 


114  ILLINOIS 

into  the  edge  of  the  forest.  Here_Black  Hawk  with 
a  party  of  forty  warriors  rushed  on  the  rangers, 
with  a  war  whoop  aad  a  volley. 

In  consternation,  without  returning  the  fire,  the 
Americans  began  a  disorderly  flight.  Reaching  their 
camp,  the  panic  spread  to  the  men  who  had  remained 
there.  All  of  them,  some  without  saddles,  some 
without  bridles,  joined  in  the  flight.  They  left  their 
tents,  camp  equipment,  provisions,  ammunition. 
Neither  swamps  nor  swollen  streams  could  check 
them,  till  they  reached  Dixon's  Ferry,  thirty  miles 
away;  and  some  of  them  continued  their  mad  gallop 
forty  miles  farther  to  their  homes.  The  first  fugi- 
tives arrived  about  midnight;  from  then  till  morn- 
ing they  continued  to  come,  by  threes  and  fours 
or  singly,  each  reporting  that  the  Indians  were  just 
behind.  Black  Hawk,  at  the  head  of  two  thousand 
braves,  they  said,  was  advancing  on  the  unprotected 
settlers.  People  took  refuge  in  the  forts.  His  name 
became  a  dread  in  every  household.  Consternation 
filled  the  whole  country,  after  the  battle  (?)  of 
Stillman's  Run.6 

The  governor  issued  a  fiery  proclamation,  calling 
for  three  thousand  more  militia,  "to  subdue  the  In- 
dians and  drive  them  out  of  the  state."  More  fed- 
eral troops  were  asked  for,  and  General  Winfield 
Scott  came  from  the  Atlantic  coast  to  take  com- 
mand. The  savages  boldly  committed  depredations 


THE    BLACK    HAWK   WAR          115 

everywhere,  attacking  small  settlements,  cutting  off 
communication  between  towns,  murdering  scattered 
groups  of  soldiers  or  citizens. 

For  three  months  the  troops  were  pursuing  the 
Indians,  who  took  refuge  in  the  unexplored  swamps 
of  the  north.  They  were  delayed  by  the  jealousies 
of  regular  and  militia  officers,  by  the  expiration  of 
the  volunteers'  time,  by  their  ignorance  of  the  coun- 
try, and  their  lack  of  confidence  in  their  Indian 
guides.  By  the  middle  of  July,  however,  they  were 
on  the  trail  of  Black  Hawk  and  his  braves.  They 
left  their  baggage,  marched  fifty  miles  one  day  in 
a  storm,  and  crossed  the  river,  hot  in  pursuit.  The 
ground  was  strewn  with  kettles  and  blankets,  thrown 
away  for  the  sake  of  speed.  And  on  the  twenty- 
first  they  came  up  with  the  rear  guard  of  twenty 
Indians,  who  made  a  bold  stand  and  gave  the  main 
band  time  to  retreat.  The  next  morning  the  Amer- 
icans found  the  enemy  had  escaped  during  the  night. 

Over  wooded  hills,  marshy  ravines,  swollen 
streams  went  the  fugitives,  the  followers  slowly 
gaining  as  they  neared  the  Mississippi.  When  the 
Americans  appeared  the  Indians  raised  a  hideous 
yell.  "Stillman  is  not  here!"  was  the  answering 
cry,  and  the  disgrace  of  the  flight  was  wiped  out 
by  a  splendid  charge.  In  the  battle  of  the  Bad  Axe 
the  whites  showed  no  mercy.  They  charged  with 
the  bayonet.  The  sharpshooters  picked  off  war- 


116  ILLINOIS 

riors,  women  and  children,  all  alike,  in  the  tall  grass. 
The  transport  fired  on  those  who  tried  to  cross  the 
river.  Over  three  hundred  Indians  perished  in  three 
hours.7 

Black  Hawk  and  his  two  sons  escaped,  only  to 
be  captured  by  some  Winnebagoes,  who,  wanting 
the  friendship  of  the  Americans,  surrendered  them 
to  the  United  States  Indian  agent.  The  former 
chief  made  this  speech : 

* 

"My  warriors  fell  around  me;  it  began  to  look 
dismal.  I  saw  my  evil  day  at  hand.  .  .  .  This 
was  the  last  sun  that  shone  on  Black  Hawk.  He  is 
now  a  prisoner  to  the  white  man.  But  he  can  stand 
the  torture.  He  is  not  afraid. of  death.  He  is  no 
coward.  Black  Hawk  is  an  Indian;  he  has  done 
nothing  of  which  an  Indian  need  to  be  ashamed. 
He  has  fought  the  battles  of  his  country  against 
the  white  men,  who  came,  year  after  year,  to  cheat 
them  and  take  away  their  lands.  You  know  the 
cause  of  our  making  war — it  is  known  to  all  white 
men — they  ought  to  be  ashamed  of  it.  The  white 
men  despise  the  Indians,  and  drive  them  from  their 
homes.  But  the  Indians  are  not  deceitful.  The 
white  men  speak  bad  of  the  Indian,  and  look  at  him 
spitefully.  But  the  Indian  does  not  tell  lies ;  Indians 
do  not  steal.  Black  Hawk  is  satisfied.  He  will  go 
to  the  world  of  spirits  contented.  He  has  done  his 
duty — his  Father  will  meet  him  and  reward  him. 
.  .  .  Farewell  to  my  nation !  Farewell  to  Black 
Hawk!" 


THE    BLACK    HAWK    WAR          117 

The  volunteers  were  disbanded,  and  a  treaty  made1 
with  the  Indians  in  September,  for  which  the  chief 
and  his  sons  were  held  as  hostages.  Under  charge 
of  Lieutenant  Jefferson  Davis  they  were  taken  to 
St.  Louis;  and  later  were  transferred  to  Washing- 
ton. Black  Hawk  had  an  interview  with  President 
Jackson,  greeting  him  with  "I  am  a  man,  and  you 
are  another."  At  the  close  of  his  speech  he  said : 

"We  did  not  expect  to  conquer  the  whites — they 
had  too  many  houses,  too  many  men.  I  took  up  the 
hatchet,  for  my  part,  to  revenge  injuries  which  my 
people  could  no  longer  endure.  Had  I  borne  them 
longer  without  striking  my  people  would  have  said, 
'Black  Hawk  is  a  woman — he  is  too  old  to  be  a 
chief — he  is  no  Sac.'  These  reflections  caused  me 
to  raise  the  war-whoop.  I  say  no  more  of  it.  .  .  . 
Black  Hawk  expects  that,  like  Keokuk,  we  shall  be 
permitted  to  return."8 

Jackson  replied  that  when  peace  was  secured  they 
might  return.  And  when  they  had  been  at  Fortress 
Monroe  for  three  months  his  order  released  them. 
They  went  to  Baltimore,  Philadelphia,  New  York 
and  other  cities,  that  the  Indians  might  see  the  great- 
ness of  the  country.  Crowds  collected  everywhere 
to  see  Black  Hawk.  The  Indians  even-  divided  pub- 
lic curiosity  and  attention  with  Jackson,  who  was 
then  making  a  tour  of  the  northern  states.  The 
ladies  especially  sought  his  acquaintance,  and  in  re- 


118  ILLINOIS 

turn  for  their  polite  sympathy,  Black  Hawk  said 
they  were  "very  pretty  squaws." 

The  broken-hearted  warrior  died  five  years  later 
on  an  Iowa  reservation.  In  comparison  with  Philip, 
or  Pontiac,  or  Tecumseh,  he  was  not  an  extraordi- 
nary Indian,  not  a  great  leader,  not  great  in  plan- 
ning a  course  of  action.  He  was  restless  and  am- 
bitious, brave  and  resentful. 

The  importance  of  this  war,  the  last  stand  of 
the  red  men  against  the  white  settlers  in  Illinois, 
has  been  greatly  exaggerated.  It  cost  the  Ameri- 
cans over  two  hundred  lives,  three  months'  time, 
and  two  million  dollars.  Yet  it  was  fought  against 
four  hundred  Indians,  with  perhaps  a  thousand 
women  and  children.  Fortunately  for  her  finances, 
almost  the  total  expense  was  borne  by  the  national 
government,  for  the  state  would  have  had  great  dif- 
ficulty in  meeting  this  bill.  But  it  is  Illinois's  one 
and  only  war,  distinctly  native. 

Black  Hawk  is  a  unique  character.  What  can 
you  find  about  his  connection  with  the  War  of  1812  ? 
In  Thwaites's  How  George  Rogers  Clark  Won  the 
Northwest  there  is  ah  account  of  "The  Black  -Hawk 
war.  Ford's  history  tells  about  it.  Perhaps  you 
can  secure  a  copy  of  Drake's  Life  of  Black  Hawk. 
And  Frank  Stevens's  The  Black  Hawk  War  will 
give  you  a  detailed  account-o'f  these  battles  (?)  and 


THE    BLACK    HAWK   WAR          119 

of  the  old  Indian  chief.  Do  not  fail  to  read  Black 
Hawk's  Autobiography,  transcribed  by  an  Indian 
trader.  It  will  give  you  the  inside  view  of  an 
Indian. 


XVI 

A  PERMANENT  CAPITAL 

V  AND  ALIA  had  become  the  capital  of  Illinois 
in  1820,  with  the  understanding  that  this  was 
only  temporary.  Long  before  the  twenty  years  were 
over  the  question  of  a  new  capital  was  being  dis- 
cussed. The  movement  of  population  was  wholly 
toward  the  center  of  Illinois.  This  was  before  the 
era  of  railroads,  and  travel  to  and  from  the  capital 
made  distance  an  object  to  be  seriously  considered. 

The  legislature  of  1833  submitted  the  question 
to  the  people,  and  the  election  the  following  year 
gave  Alton  the  highest  number  of  votes,  with 
Springfield  standing  third.  But  no  appropriation 
was  made  to  second  this  choice,  and  the  matter  came 
to  nothing. 

Now  when  the  question  came  up  again  in  the 
legislature,  bills  for  the  Illinois-Michigan  Canal  and 
for  internal  improvements  were  being  considered. 
Sangamon  had  become,  in  fifteen  years,  the  most 
populous  county  in  the  state.  She  had  two  senators 
and  seven  representatives,  called  the  "Long  Nine," 

120 


A   PERMANENT    CAPITAL  121 

because  they  averaged  six  feet  in  height.  Their 
one  object  was  to  Obtain  the  capital  for  Springfield. 
Dexterous  in  the  handling  of  men,  and  led  by  Abra- 
ham Lincoln,  perhaps  the  most  skilful  of  all  the 
politic  statesmen  of  his  day,  they  voted  as  a  unit 
from  the  very  beginning  of  the  session.  For  every 
local  measure  introduced  they  had  nine  votes,  for  or 
against,  but  always  bargaining  for  votes  for  Spring- 
field. They  gave  "a  long  pull,  a  strong  pull,  and 
a  pull  all  together."  Like  a  snowball,  the  "Long 
Nine"  gathered  accessions  of  strength  with  every 
roll  call;  and  when  the  location  of  the  capital  was 
finally  decided,  though  twenty-nine  places  were 
voted  for,  Springfield  won  on  the  fourth  ballot.1 
The  legislature  appropriated  fifty  thousand  dollars 
for  the  erection  of  a  state  house,  on  condition  that 
the  citizens  of  Springfield  give  a  like  sum  and  two 
acres  of  ground. 

The  Sangamo  country,  meaning  in  the  Indian 
tongue  "the  country  where  there  is  plenty  to  eat," 
in  Biblical  phrase  "the  land  flowing  with  milk  and 
honey,"  was  first  known  to  Americans  through  the 
reports  of  the  rangers.  In  the  autumn  of  1819  a 
weary  immigrant  family  who  had  traveled  from 
North  Carolina  encamped  on  the  bank  of  Spring 
Creek.  Lighting  their  campfire,  they  gathered  about 
the  frugal  supper,  on  the  site  of  their  new  home  in 
the  wilderness.  The  next  morning  the  ring  of  the 


122  ILLINOIS 

ax  resounded  in  the  forest.  And  in  a  few  days  John 
Kelly's  family  had  a  rough  log  cabin,  where  now 
Jefferson  and  First  Streets  cross  in  the  capital  city.2 

This  was  the  nucleus  of  a  town,  named  Spring- 
field in  honor  of  Spring  Creek  and  Kelly's  field.  Set- 
tlers came  in  large  numbers,  for  the  "St.  Gamo 
Kedentry,"  as  Sangamon  County  was  called  in  the 
vernacular,  soon  became  famous.  A  town  was  laid 
off  and  plotted,  called  Calhoun,  but  to  this  people 
objected,  and  the  name  Springfield  was  revived. 

When  the  capital  was  moved  here  the  town  had 
about  eleven  hundred  inhabitants.  The  houses  were 
mostly  frame  and  poorly  constructed.  Springfield 
could  boast  but  little  wealth,  and  many  of  the  citi- 
zens were  greatly  embarrassed  through  their  efforts 
to  raise  the  fifty  thousand  dollars  required  for  the 
new  state  house.  The  streets  were  unpaved;  there 
were  no  sidewalks  in  many  places ;  in  spring  and  au- 
tumn the  mud  was  unfathomable.  For  many  years 
the  town  was  crude  in  appearance  and  in  fact. 

Lincoln  had  a  favorite  story  illustrating  this.  The 
secretary  of  state  had  the  care  and  letting  of  the 
assembly  chamber,  and  one  day  had  a  request  from 
a  meek-looking  man  with  a  white  necktie  to  use  the 
room  to  deliver  a  course  of  lectures.  Asked  the 
subject,  he  replied,  with  a  very  solemn  expression 
of  countenance,  "The  second  coming  of  our  Lord." 

"It  is  of  no  use,"  said  the  secretary,  "if  you  will 


A   PERMANENT    CAPITAL          123 

take  my  advice,  you  will  not  waste  your  time  in  this 
city.  It  is  my  private  opinion  that  if  the  Lord  has 
been  in  Springfield  once,  he  will  not  come  the  sec- 
ond time."3 

But  the  capital  city  did  not  long  remain  uninvit- 
ing. Her  citizens  had  enterprise  and  industry.  Out- 
side capital  came  in;  factories  were  established; 
railroads  developed  her  coal  mines;  streets  were 
paved;  prosperity  arrived  and  stayed. 

The  cornerstone  of  the  state  house  was  laid  on 
the  fourth  of  July,  1837,  with  an  address  by  the 
brilliant  orator,  E.  D.  Baker.  It  was  estimated  that 
the  cost  would  be  one  hundred  thirty  thousand  dol- 
lars, but  this  was  only  half  the  sum  needed.  Before 
the  new  building  was  ready  the  governor  called  a 
special  session  of  the  legislature;  the  house  of  rep- 
resentatives met  in  the  Presbyterian  church,  the  sen- 
ate in  the  Methodist  church,  and  the  supreme  court 
in  the  Episcopal. 

Erected  in  the  center  of  the  public  square,  the 
state  house  was  built  of  cut  stone  from  a  quarry 
ten  miles  away,  brought  to  the  city  by  ox  teams. 
With  its  two  porticos  and  massive  columns,  spacious 
halls  and  generous  rooms  for  legislature,  supreme 
court  and  committees,  it  was  the  wonder  of  the 
country  round.  It  was  admired  as  a  model  of  archi- 
tectural beauty,  and  supposed  to  be  ample  for  the 
needs  of  Illinois  for  all  time  to  come. 


124  ILLINOIS 

But  so  rapid  was  the  progress  of  the  state  that 
in  less  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  this  building  was 
regarded  as  no  longer  adequate.  Many  departments 
had  to  occupy  rented  rooms.  The  capitol  was  called 
"a  squat  and  unshapely  pile,"  not  suited  to  the  pride 
and  pretensions  of  the  people  of  the  fourth  state  in 
the  Union.  It  ought,  said  many,  to  represent  the 
greatness  and  dignity  of  Illinois. 

In  1865  a  bill  was  introduced 'in  the  legislature 
to  remove  the  capital  to  Peoria.  Springfield's  hotel 
accommodations  were  inferior,  the  charges  exorbi- 
tant. This  bill  was  finally  tabled,  but  it  made  the 
citizens  of  Springfield  anxious.  They  recognized 
the  consequences  that  might  follow.  Immediately 
they  built  a  new  hotel,  and  made  plans  for  a  new 
state  house.  The  county  agreed  to  buy  the  old 
building  and  the  square  for  two  hundred  thousand 
dollars.  The  city  gave  eight  acres  as  the  site  for  a 
new  capitol,  and  a  bill  was  introduced  for  an  initial 
appropriation.4 

There  were,  of  course,  other  cities  wanting  the 
state  house.  But,  as  before,  many  other  bills  were 
being  considered.  One  county  was  asking  for  the 
state  university,  another  section  for  a  penitentiary, 
Chicago  was  eager  to  have  park  and  canal  bills 
passed.  And  with  so  many  interests,  not  combined 
against  her,  Springfield  won.  As  the  final  argument 
it  was  urged  that  the  residence  of  Abraham  Lincoln 


125 


had  made  the  city  historic  ground,  sanctified  by  his 
grave. 

The  new  capitol  was  limited  to  a  cost  of  three 
million  dollars.  A  prize  of  three  thousand  dollars 
was  offered  for  the  best  design,  and  twenty-one  were 
submitted.  The  one  chosen  was  a  blending  of  classic 
and  modern  architecture,  in  the  form  of  a  great 
cross  with  a  stately  dome.  The  plan  to  have  statues 
of  Lincoln  and  Douglas  at  the  north  and  south  por- 
ticos was  never  carried  out.  The  cornerstone  was 
laid  in  October,  1868,  but  work  went  along  very 
slowly. 

Three  years  later  Peoria  offered  to  reimburse  the 
state  for  the  full  amount  expended,  nearly  a  million 
dollars,  and  donate  ten  acres  for  a  site,  if  the  capital 
was  moved  to  that  city.  Springfield,  however,  of- 
fered additional  ground,  and  finally  succeeded  in 
getting  the  appropriations  for  the  state  house  passed, 
despite  Peoria's  lobbying  and  the  free  excursion  to 
that  city  given  to  the  legislature.5 

Completed  with  an  additional  expenditure  of 
nearly  a  million  and  a  half,  the  building  was  occu- 
pied in  1876,  although  it  was  not  finally  finished 
till  twelve  years  later.  One  of  the  most  beautiful 
of  the  state  capitols,  its  dignity  and  strength  fitly 
symbolize  the  resources  and  power  and  pride  of 
Illinois.  The  growth  of  the  state's  business,  dur- 
ing the  last  decades,  has  made  what  seemed  most 


126  ILLINOIS 

generous  quarters  crowded  and  cramped.  But  in- 
stead of  a  new  state  house,  the  plan  is  to  erect  addi- 
tional buildings  near  by,  making  a  beautiful  archi- 
tectural unit.  The  arsenal,  the  supreme  court 
building,  and  the  new  centennial  building,  with  the 
state  house,  are  an  earnest  of  a  civic  center  of  which 
Illinois  will  be  justly  proud. 


XVII 

THE  ALTON  TRAGEDY 

ELIJAH  PARISH  LOVEJOY  was  a  New 
Englander,  a  Presbyterian  minister,  who 
moved  to  Illinois  in  1836.  For  three  years  he  had 
been  editing  a  religious  newspaper  in  St.  Louis. 
Many  of  his  editorials  were  strong  arguments 
against  slavery,  and,  published  in  a  slave  state,  they 
excited  unfavorable  comment.  When  a  group  of 
influential  citizens  counseled  him  "to  pass  over  in 
silence  everything  connected  with  the  subject,"  he 
refused  in  an  article  on  the  liberty  of  the  press.  Re- 
quested then  to  resign,  he  announced  his  intention 
of  removing  the  paper  to  Alton. 

On  the  eve  of  his  departure  a  mob  entered  his 
office  and  most  of  the  press  was  destroyed.  The 
remnants,  shipped  to  Alton,  arrived  on  Sunday. 
Love  joy  planned  to  leave  the  press  on  the  wharf 
till  the  next  day;  but  that  night  it  was  broken  in 
pieces  and  thrown  into  the  river.  Men  said  it  was 
disrespectful  to  the  city  of  Alton  to  permit  the  press 
to  be  established  there  when  the  paper  could  not  be 
published  in  Cincinnati  or  Louisville  or  St.  Louis. 

127 


128  ILLINOIS 

They  feared  that  an  abolition  journal  so  near  Mis- 
souri, a  slave  state,  would  do  the  town  a  serious 
injury  and  prevent  its  growth. 

But  the  people  of  Alton  were  excited  by  this 
cowardly  destruction  of  property,  and  a  public  meet- 
ing was  called,  where  Love  joy  made  a  speech.  He 
stated  that,  though  he  was  opposed  to  slavery  and 
thought  it  wrong,  he  was  not  an  abolitionist,  and 
had  indeed  been  frequently  denounced  by  Garrison 
because  he  did  not  favor  their  extreme  measures. 
He  said  that  "he  was  now  removed  from  slavery 
and  could  publish  a  newspaper  without  discussing 
it,  and  that  it  looked  like  cowardice  to  flee  from  the 
place  where  the  evil  existed  and  come  to  a  place 
where  it  did  not  exist  to  oppose  it."1  He  wished  to 
establish,  not  an  abolition  paper,  but  a  religious 
weekly.  Funds  were  raised  for  a  new  press,  and 
copies  of  the  Alton  Observer  appeared. 

Begun  solely  as  a  religious  journal,  Love  joy's  edi- 
torials soon  changed.  Slavery  was  very  moderately 
referred  to,  then  denounced  mildly,  but  presently 
the  fiercest  and  most  rabid  abolition  doctrines  were 
being  preached.  Religion  was  pressed  into  service 
as  a  mere  auxiliary  to  the  cause.  Here,  for  exam- 
ple, is  a  Love  joy  paragraph  on  the  fourth  of  July : 

"This  day  reproaches  us  for  our  sloth  and  inac- 
tivity. It  is  the  day  of  our  nation's  birth.  Even 
as  we  write  crowds  are  hurrying  past  our  window 


THE   ALTON    TRAGEDY  129 

in  eager  anticipation  to  the  appointed  bower,  to 
listen  to  the  declaration  that  'All  men  are  created 
equal';  to  hear  the  eloquent  orator  denounce,  in 
strains  of  manly  indignation,  the  attempt  of  Eng- 
land to  lay  a  yoke  on  the  shoulders  of  our  fathers 
which  neither  they  nor  their  children  could  bear. 
Alas!  what  bitter  mockery  is  this!  We  assemble 
to  thank  God  for  our  own  freedom,  and  to  eat  with 
joy  and  gladness  of  heart  while  our  feet  are  on 
the  necks  of  nearly  three  million  of  our  fellow  men. 
Not  all  our  shouts  of  self -congratulation  can  drown 
their  groans;  even  that  very  flag  which  waves  over 
our  head  is  formed  from  material  cultivated  by 
slaves,  on  a  soil  moistened  by  their  blood,  drawn 
from  them  by  the  whip  of  a  republican  task-mas- 
ter."2 

The  citizens,  not  wishing  to  see  the  public  peace 
disturbed,  sent  a  deputation  to  call  on  Love  joy,  to 
remind  him  of  his  first  plans  for  the  Observer,  and 
urging  him  to  desist  from  his  course.  He  denied 
having  made  any  promise  and  contended  for  the 
liberty  of  the  press.  The  people  assembled,  quietly 
took  press  and  type,  and  threw  them  into  the  Mis- 
sissippi. 

It  was  now  apparent  to  all  rational  men  that  the 
Observer  could  no  longer  be  published  in  Alton  as 
an  abolition  paper.3  The  more  reasonable  of  Love- 
joy's  party  thought  it  useless  to  try  again,  and  dis- 
cussed going  to  Quincy  or  some  other  city.  Some 


130  ILLINOIS 

of  the  group,  however,  seemed  to  think  the  salvation 
of  the  black  race  depended  on  continuing  publication 
of  the  Observer.  Sustain  the  press  at  all  hazards! 
Others  said  it  was  madness  to  make  the  attempt, 
that  already  their  efforts  had  come  near  destroying 
the  religious  feeling  of  the  community. 

Perhaps  not  more  than  fifty  men  upheld  Lovejoy 
in  this  crisis,  when  he  said,  "I  will  start  another 
paper,  no  matter  what  the  consequences  may  be." 
Far  from  being  discouraged,  he  was  more  deter- 
mined than  ever  to  publish  his  sheet  in  Alton,  at 
the  point  of  the  bayonet,  if  necessary.  Another 
press  was  ordered,  arrived  in  a  few  weeks,  and  was 
promptly  cast  into  the  river.  Still  another  was  sent 
and  destroyed,  the  excitement  assuming  a  spirit  of 
frenzy,  increasing  to  a  perfect  tornado. 

An  outbreak  was  now  confidently  looked  for.  All 
business  was  suspended.  Nothing  was  talked  of  but 
the  efforts  of  the  abolitionists.4  Love  joy's  followers 
formed  themselves  into  a  military  company  and  kept 
guard  at  the  wharf.  When  the  next  press  arrived, 
on  the  night  of  November  sixth,  they  removed  it 
to  a  warehouse  and  kept  watch  about  the  building 
all  the  following  day.  But  in  the  evening  every- 
thing was'  quiet,  and  all  but  nineteen  of  the  fatigued 
party  left. 

The  citizens  were  goaded  on  to  madness  by  the 
taunts  and  threats  of  the  abolitionists — that  they 


THE  ALTON   TRAGEDY  131 

did  not  dare  touch  the  press,  that  powder  and  lead 
were  not  mere  playthings,  that  they  had  thirty 
rounds  of  cartridges  and  the  mob  should  feel  their 
virtue!  Soon  after  nine  o'clock  a  group  of  thirty 
men  assembled  in  front  of  the  warehouse  and  de- 
manded that  the  press  be  given  up  to  them.  The 
night  was  so  clear  that  both  parties  were  distinctly 
visible  during  the  parley.  The  men  within  replied 
that  they  were  well  provided  with  arms  and  ammu- 
nition and  would  defend  the  press  to  the  last  ex- 
tremity rather  than  surrender  it.  With  stones  and 
brickbats  the  assailants  attacked  the  building,  trying 
to  carry  it  by  storm.  Some  one  in  the  warehouse 
fired  from  the  second  floor,  killing  one  of  the  crowd. 
Loud  and  bitter  imprecations  were  heard,  and  the 
death  of  all  in  the  defending  group  was  boldly 
threatened. 

The  party  outside  scattered.  Some  went  to  get 
powder,  to  blow  up  the  stone  building;  some  for 
ladders,  to  set  the  roof  on  fire ;  the  bells  of  the  city 
were  rung,  and  horns  blown  to  assemble  a  greater 
multitude.5  Armed  men  came  rushing  to  the  scene 
of  action.  One  side  of  the  warehouse  had  no  win- 
dows; and  here,  safe  from  shots  from  within,  a 
man  ascended  a  ladder  with  a  burning  torch  in  his 
hand.  When  volunteers  were  called  for  to  dislodge 
him,  Love  joy  and  two  others  responded,  stepped  out 
on  the  levee,  and  aimed  at  the  figure  on  the  ladder. 


132  ILLINOIS 

The  fire  was  returned  by  several  men  hidden  behind 
a  pile  of  lumber,  and  Lovejoy  was  hit  by  five  bul- 
lets. Running  into  the  warehouse,  he  exclaimed, 
"My  God!  I  am  shot!"  and  died  in  the  arms  of  a 
friend. 

The  crowd  continued  to  fire  at  the  building  until 
the  defenders  surrendered  the  press,  which  was 
broken  up  and  thrown  into  the  river.  The  fire  com- 
pany extinguished  the  flames  on  the  warehouse  roof, 
and  all  quieted  down  into  darkness  and  oblivion. 
Several  men  on  both  sides  were  indicted  in  cases 
arising  from  this  riot,  but  none  was  found  guilty. 
Both  parties  judged  it  advisable  to  forgive  and  for- 
get the  whole  transaction.  Indeed,  it  was  made  a 
matter  of  court  record  that  the  abolitionists  had  not 
provoked  an  assault,  that  there  had  been  no  mob, 
and  that  no  one  was  killed  or  wounded ! 

The  day  after  the  tragedy,  without  ceremony, 
Lovejoy's  body  was  buried  on  a  high  bluff  in  the 
south  part  of  Alton.6  Some  years  later  this  site  was 
chosen  for  a  cemetery,  and  the  main  avenue  chanced 
to  pass  over  his  grave.  His  ashes  were  moved  to 
another  place,  and  on  the  sixtieth  anniversary  of  his 
death  a  monument,  erected  half  by  the  state  and 
half  by  public  subscription,  was  dedicated  "in  grat- 
itude to  God,  and  in  the  love  of  liberty." 

A  man  of  talent  and  extraordinary  energy  and 
pertinacity,  Lovejoy's  life  was  aggressive,  his  death 


THE  ALTON   TRAGEDY  133 

tragic.  Like  all  true  reformers,  he  had  a  grasp  of 
intellect  enabling  him  to  see  and  act  ahead  of  his 
time.  His  convictions  were  deep-seated,  but  his 
course  was  needlessly  irritating  and  offensive  to  his 
fellow  citizens.  In  pursuing  his  end  he  lost  sight 
of  the  best  means  for  its  attainment. 

Because  it  concerned  slavery,  the  Alton  riot 
caused  immense  excitement  throughout  the  country.7 
It  was  discussed  at  public  meetings  and  in  the  press 
and  pulpit.  Some  papers  came  out  in  mourning. 
Ministers  preached  on  Love  joy  as  a  martyr.  The 
voice  of  condemnation  was  almost  universal.  Love- 
joy  had  found  his  grave,  it  was  said,  in  the  bosom 
of  a  free  state,  and  his  death  would  kindle  a  flame 
which  years  could  not  extinguish.  Indeed,  it  took 
a  costly  civil  war  to  wipe  out  the  stain. 

But  Lovejoy  was  not  a  member  of  the  abolition 
party.  He  was  fighting  for  the  freedom  of  the  press 
and  for  free  speech. 

Besides  the  accounts  in  the  various  histories,  you 
will  be  interested  in  the  Memoir  of  Lovejoy,  writ- 
ten by  his  two  brothers. 


XVIII 

RELIGION    MIXED   WITH    POLITICS 

IN  1839  there  came  to  Illinois  a  group  of  settlers 
whose  career  is  one  of  the  most  unusual  in  his- 
tory, whose  few  years  in  our  state  make  one  of  its 
most  unique  stories.  These  people  were  the  Mor- 
mons, or,  as  they  called  themselves,  "the  Latter-Day 
Saints,"  and  their  leader  was  Joseph  Smith. 

Some  years  before  he  had  started  a  church  in 
western  New  York,  preaching  from  the  Bible,  and, 
like  Mahomet,  adding  to  it.  His  Book  of  Mor- 
mon gives  a  long  account  of  the  lost  ten  tribes  of 
Israel  and  tells  how  they  settled  in  America.  By 
means  of  two  crystal  stones  Smith  translated  this 
from  the  gold  plates  he  discovered,  where  it  was 
written  in  peculiar  characters.  His  church  had 
power  over  the  consciences  and  spiritual  affairs  of 
its  members,  and  also  over  their  persons  and  prop- 
erty. The  Jesuit  organization  was  not  more  com- 
plete.1 

From  New  York  the  group  moved  to  Ohio  and 
then  to  Missouri,  their  numbers  constantly  increas- 
ing. Organized  as  a  community,  they  said  that  the 

134 


RELIGION   AND   POLITICS          135 

Lord  had  given  them  all  that  country,  as  they  were 
His  Saints.  They  refused  to  acknowledge  the  au- 
thority of  the  state  of  Missouri,  plundered  near-by 
towns,  and  at  last  the  militia  was  called  out  against 
them.  The  Mormons  surrendered,  were  ordered  to 
leave  the  state,  and  sought  refuge  in  Illinois. 

Though  it  was  known  that  they  had  left  Ohio  be- 
cause of  the  questionable  failure  of  Smith's  bank, 
though  Missouri  had  found  them  such  undesirable 
citizens,  they  were  welcomed  in  Illinois.  Several 
counties  vied  with  one  another  in  their  offers  of  hos- 
pitality, and  tried  to  get  the  strangers  to  settle  with- 
in their  boundaries.  The  Mormons  told  a  romantic 
story  of  the  cruel  treatment  of  their  enemies,  of 
their  escape  through  perils  of  field  and  flood.  They 
made  themselves  out  as  the  weaker,  persecuted 
party.  And  the  good  people  of  Illinois  expressed 
much  sympathy  for  these  men  who  suffered  in  the 
cause  of  their  religion.2  After  wandering  about  for 
some  time,  they  selected  a  place  on  the  Mississippi 
River  in  Hancock  County,  and  started  a  town  which 
they  called  Nauvoo,  meaning  peaceable  or  pleasant. 

Here  they  planned  to  build  a  great  city  and  tem- 
ple, as  the  place  for  the  gathering  to  Zion.  In  two 
years  they  had  put  up  more  than  two  thousand 
houses,  and  Nauvoo,  with  sixteen  thousand  people, 
was  the  largest  town  in  the  state.  Into  the  county 
people  poured,  from  every  part  of  the  world.  The 


136  ILLINOIS 

discontented  from  all  other  sects,  men  who  loved 
the  new  and  the  mysterious,  men  who  saw  in  Mor- 
monism  a  stepping  stone  to  power  and  wealth;  vi- 
sionary, enthusiast,  scoundrel,  dupe,  made  up  the 
members,  all  fanatical  followers  of  the  prophet,  Joe 
Smith.3 

The  great  temple  is  said  to  have  cost  a  million  dol- 
lars in  money  and  labor.  The  people  worked  on  it, 
every  tenth  day,  or  gave  money  to  pay  a  mason  or 
carpenter.  Placed  on  the  river  bluff  in  a  command- 
ing position,  it  overlooked  the  country  in  Illinois 
and  Iowa  for  twenty  miles.  It  was  not  planned 
after  any  order  of  architecture,  unless  we  call  it 
Mormonic.  Indeed,  the  Saints  themselves  said  it 
was  begun  without  a  plan,  and  from  day  to  day  the 
master  builder  received  directions  directly  from 
Heaven. 

"And  really,"  says  a  contemporary  writer,  "it 
looks  as  if  it  was  the  result  of  such  frequent  change 
as  would  be  produced  by  a  daily  accession  of  new 
ideas.  It  has  been  said  that  the  church  architecture 
of  a  sect  indicates  the  genius  and  spirit  of  a  reli- 
gion." He  goes  on  to  describe  the  characteristic 
Catholic  and  Methodist  and  Presbyterian  church, 
and  concludes,  "If  the  genius  of  Mormonism  were 
tried  by  this  test,  as  exhibited  in  the  temple,  we 
could  only  pronounce  that  it  was  a  piece  of  patch- 
work, variable,  strange,  and  incongruous."4 


U 


RELIGION   AND    POLITICS          137 

But  interesting  as  the  Mormons  were,  had  they 
remained  an  unobtrusive  religious  community,  their 
place  in  Illinois  history  would  be  no  more  important 
than  any  other  group  of  settlers,  far  less  than  the 
English  colony  in  Edwards  County.  But  the  Mor- 
mons almost  immediately  mixed  in  Illinois  politics, 
and  became  an  important  factor  for  the  years  they 
lived  in  the  state.  At  that  time  party  feeling  ran 
high,  and  the  contest  between  Whigs  and  Democrats 
was  close  and  bitter.  Both  sides  wanted  the  Mor- 
mon vote,  which  Smith  seemed  to  hold  in  the  hollow 
of  his  hand.  He  announced  that  his  people  should 
vote 'for  this  man  or  that,  with  the  same  assurance 
as  when  he  told  of  an  angel's  message  about  the 
Book  of  Mormon.  And,  like  a  Jesuit  leader's,  his 
power  was  absolute. 

From  the  legislature  the  Mormons  asked  a  char- 
ter for  the  town  of  Nauvoo.  Both  parties,  flattered 
with  the  hope  of  Mormon  votes,  hurried  its  passage. 
In  the  senate,  the  ayes  and  noes  were  not  called  for ; 
in  the  house  it  was  read  only  by  title.  It  was  rushed 
through,  at  the  opening  of  the  session,  even  before 
the  "poetry  bill,"  which  provided  for  the  members' 
salaries ! 

And  such  powers  as  this  charter  gave  Nauvoo  !5 
A  government  within  a  government — a  city  council 
with  power  to  pass  ordinances  contrary  to  the  laws 
of  the  state ;  a  court  sitting  in  all  cases  arising  under 


138  ILLINOIS 

the  city  laws;  a  military  force,  called  the  Nauvoo 
Legion,  governed  by  its  own  ordinances,  supplied 
with  arms  by  the  state,  but  subject  only  to  the  gov- 
ernor. The  legislature  granted  another  charter  for 
a  great  tavern,  the  Nauvoo  House,  where  the 
prophet  and  his  heirs  were  to  have  a  suite  of  rooms 
forever. 

Smith  was,  at  one  and  the  same  time,  prophet, 
priest,  merchant,  president,  elder,  editor,  general  of 
the  Nauvoo  Legion,  mayor,  legislator  in  the  council, 
judge  in  one  court  and  chief  justice  in  another,  real 
estate  agent  for  the  town,  and  tavern  keeper.6  He 
was  a  fugitive  from  justice  in  Missouri,  but  repeated 
warrants  issued  for  his  arrest  were  not  served.  The 
council  of  Nauvoo  passed  a  law  making  it  illegal  to 
serve  a  warrant  in  that  city,  unless  it  had  been  ap- 
proved by  the  mayor — Smith  himself.  And  another 
ordinance  made  it  lawful  to  arrest  any  man  who 
comes  "to  arrest  Joseph  Smith  with  process  growing 
out  of  the  Missouri  difficulties." 

It  was  impossible  to  serve  writs  in  Hancock 
County.  The  Mormons  became  more  and  more  ar- 
rogant and  insolent.  They  petitioned  Congress  to 
establish  a  separate  government  for  them  in  Nau- 
voo. Smith  announced  himself  as  a  candidate  for 
the  presidency  of  the  United  States.  The  people 
became  embittered  against  the  Saints,  saying  that 


RELIGION    AND    POLITICS          139 

they  voted  in  a  body  and  thus  held  the  balance  of 
power,  for  no  election  was  possible  in  the  county 
without  their  influence  and  ballots.  It  was  said  that 
they  were  about  to  set  up  a  government  of  their 
own;  that  they  made  counterfeit  money;  that  be- 
lieving they  were  entitled  to  all  the  goodly  farms  in 
the  country,  it  was  no  moral  offense  to  anticipate 
God's  putting  them  in  possession  by  stealing  when 
opportunity  offered;  that  Nauvoo  sheltered  outlaws 
and  murderers  and  thieves,  making  religion  a  cloak 
for  crime;  and  that  under  the  name  of  "spiritual 
wives"  Smith  encouraged  polygamy  and  immoral- 
ity.7 

So  it  is  not  surprising  that  when  a  schism  oc- 
curred in  the  church,  led  by  a  man  named  Law,  num- 
bers of  outsiders  joined  his  group  against  the  des- 
potic prophet.  Law  started  a  newspaper,  to  put  his 
cause  before  the  people,  to  expose  Smith's  iniquities 
and  fight  his  doctrine  of  polygamy.  But  only  one 
number  was  published,  when  the  Mormons  scattered 
the  press  to  the  four  winds  and  expelled  Law  and  his 
friends  from  the  church.  Warrants  against  Smith 
were  discharged  in  his  court.  An  appeal  was  then 
sent  to  Governor  Ford,  asking  him  to  send  the  mili- 
tia to  arrest  the  offenders.  The  assailing  of  the  lib- 
erty of  the  press  was  of  course  a  powerful  argu- 
ment. 


140  ILLINOIS 

When  troops  were  called  out  to  serve  as  a  con- 
stable's posse,  Smith  assembled  the  Nauvoo  Legion 
and  declared  martial  law.  The  governor  himself 
went  up  to  Carthage.  The  prophet  and  his  brother 
surrendered  at  his  request,  and  were  locked  up  in 
jail  on  a  charge  of  riot.  The  Legion  gave  up  their 
arms.  Now  Ford  knew  that  the  troops  were  only 
waiting  for  some  excuse  to  attack  the  Mormons. 
When  he  learned  of  a  plan  to  fire  on  the  soldiers  and 
accuse  the  Saints  of  the  deed,  he  promptly  disbanded 
all  the  militia  except  a  guard  for  the  Carthage  jail. 

Going  over  to  Nauvoo,  the  governor  addressed 
the  Mormons,  explaining  the  situation  and  receiving 
their  pledge  to  abide  by  the  laws,  even  against  the 
orders  of  their  church.  This  would  probably  have 
postponed  any  collision,  but  while  the  governor  was 
absent  on  this  mission,  an  armed  mob  was  taking 
charge  of  affairs  in  Carthage.  And  this  mob  was 
none  other  than  some  of  the  disbanded  soldiers  of 
the  state ! 

"About  two  hundred  of  these  men,"  says  Ford's 
account  of  this  event,  "many  of  them  disguised  by 
blacking  their  faces  with  powder  and  mud,  hastened 
immediately  to  Carthage.  There  they  encamped,  at 
some  distance  from  the  village,  and  soon  learned 
that  one  of  the  companies  left  as  a  guard  had  dis- 
banded and  returned  to  their  homes ;  the  other  com- 
pany, the  Carthage  Greys,  was  stationed  by  the  cap- 
tain in  the  public  square,  a  hundred  and  fifty  yards 


RELIGION    AND    POLITICS          141 

from  the  jail.  Whilst  eight  men  were  detailed  to 
guard  the  prisoners. 

"A  communication  was  soon  established  between 
the  conspirators  and  the  company;  and  it  was  ar- 
ranged that  the  guard  should  have  their  guns 
charged  with  blank  cartridges  and  fire  at  the  assail- 
ants when  they  attempted  to  enter  the  jail.  .  .  . 
The  conspirators  came  up,  jumped  the  slight  fence 
around  the  jail,  were  fired  upon  by  the  guard,  which, 
according  to  arrangement,  was  overpowered  imme- 
diately, and  the  assailants  entered  the  prison,  to  the 
door  of  the  room  where  the  two  prisoners  were  con- 
fined, with  two  of  their  friends,  who  voluntarily 
bore  them  company. 

"An  attempt  was  made  to  break  open  the  door; 
but  Joe  Smith,  being  armed  with  a  six-barreled  pis- 
tol, furnished  by  his  friends,  fired  several  times  as 
the  door  was  bursted  open,  and  wounded  three  of 
the  assailants.  At  the  same  time  several  shots  were 
fired  into  the  room,  .  .  .  and  Hiram  Smith  was 
instantly  killed.  Joe  Smith  now  attempted  to  es- 
cape by  jumping  out  of  the  second-story  window; 
but  the  fall  so  stunned  him  that  he  was  unable  to 
rise ;  and  being  placed  in  a  sitting  posture  by  the  con- 
spirators below,  they  dispatched  him  with  four  balls 
shot  through  his  body.  Thus  fell  Joe  Smith,  the 
most  successful  impostor  in  modern  times."8 

But  his  death,  instead  of  ending  the  sect,  gave  the 
Mormons  a  new  confidence  in  their  faith,  an  in- 
creased fanaticism,  and  many  more  members.  Their 
vote  was  sought  by  both  parties  in  the  presidential 


142  ILLINOIS 

election  of  1844.  The  anti-Mormon  group  grew 
more  and  more  bitter.  In  spite  of  the  governor's 
resolution  to  have  the  assassins  of  the  two  Smiths 
punished  with  the  utmost  rigor  of  the  law,  it  was  im- 
possible to  convict  them ;  for  the  anti-Mormons  had 
a  jury  of  their  friends.  Neither  was  it  possible  to 
convict  the  men  guilty  of  destroying  the  printing 
press,  for  the  Mormons  were  tried  before  a  Mormon 
jury. 

"No  leading  man  on  either  side  could  be  arrested 
without  the  aid  of  an  army.  .  .  .  No  one  would 
be  convicted  of  any  crime  in  Hancock;  and  this  put 
an  end  to  the  administration  of  civil  law  in  that  dis- 
tracted county.  Government  was  at  an  end  there, 
and  the  whole  community  were  delivered  up  to  the 
dominion  of  a  frightful  anarchy."  There  was  little 
but  riot  and  warfare.  In  the  autumn  of  1845  the 
Mormons  in  one  village  were  told  to  leave,  but  re- 
fused. A  mob  burned  their  houses,  and  the  inmates 
in  utter  destitution  fled  to  Nauvoo.  The  Mormon 
sheriff  there  promptly  raised  a  posse,  drove  the  anti- 
Mormons  out  of  the  county,  and  burned  their  homes, 
plundering  and  laying  waste  with  fire  and  sword. 

The  soldiers  were  called  out  again.  The  Mormon 
elders,  convinced  by  now  that  they  could  not  remain 
longer  in  the  state,  bargained  that  they  would  leave 
in  the  spring,  if  they  were  not  molested  during  the 


RELIGION    AND    POLITICS          143 

winter.  A  small  garrison  stayed  in  Nauvoo.  Meet- 
ings of  more  than  four  men  were  prohibited.  The 
strictest  military  order  was  kept  and  peace  main- 
tained. 

All  the  houses  in  Nauvoo,  even  the  great  temple, 
were  transformed  into  workshops.  By  spring  more 
than  twelve  thousand  wagons  had  been  made,  to 
carry  the  people  and  their  goods  to  the  Pacific  coast.9 
In  February,  while  the  river  was  covered  with  ice 
and  the  ground  with  deep  snow,  the  twelve  apostles 
and  a  few  followers  started — the  story  is,  to  avoid 
arrest  for  counterfeiting.  And  in  May  about  six- 
teen thousand  Mormons  set  out  together,  but  a  diffi- 
cult journey  they  had  to  their  promised  land. 

Forcibly  ejected  from  Missouri,  they  had  to  make 
a  roundabout  trip  through  Iowa.  They  spent  the 
winter  near  Council  Bluffs,  where  they  had  cholera 
and  fever.  The  Indians  hovered  about,  ready  to 
plunder  them.  Not  till  July  did  they  reach  the  val- 
ley of  the  Great  Salt  Lake,  where  they  remained.  In 
that  desert  country  there  was,  for  a  long  time,  no 
anti-Mormon  party,  and  the  Latter-Day  Saints  pros- 
pered greatly. 

Thus  into  Illinois  and  out  of  the  state  passed  this 
sect,  based  on  delusion  and  imposture,  led  by  a  man 
of  so  little  education  that  he  read  indifferently  and 
wrote  and  spelled  badly,  who  nevertheless  main- 


144  ILLINOIS 

tained  his  authority  as  spiritual  and  temporal  and 
political  leader  of  an  ever-increasing  group  of 
people. 

But  the  Mormons  were  not  through  with  Illinois. 
There  were  two  young  men,  law  partners  in  Spring- 
field, who  had  seen  the  evils  of  polygamy  during  the 
Mormon  residence  in  Illinois.10  In  1865  one  of  them, 
a  representative  in  Congress,  introduced  a  bill  pro- 
hibiting plural  marriages.  It  passed  the  house  but 
failed  in  the  senate.  Eighteen  years  later,  as  senator 
from  Illinois,  Cullom  introduced  the  same  bill  and 
secured  its  passage.  His  former  law  partner  was 
appointed  federal  judge  in  Utah,  then  a  territory 
governed  by  Congress,  and  the  law  was  enforced 
strictly  and  fearlessly.  The  Mormons  themselves 
appreciated  the  justice  and  high-mindedness  of  this 
Illinoisan,  and  when  Utah  was  admitted  as  a  state, 
their  vote  elected  Zane  as  their  chief  justice. 


A  group  of  Mormon  wagons  and  a  herd  of  live  stock  crossing 
The  Missouri  River  at  Council  Bluffs  ferry 


XIX 

ILLINOIS  IN  THE  MEXICAN  WAR 

IN  the  very  month  when  the  Mormons  left,  an- 
other group  of  men  were  preparing  to  start  from 
Illinois,  but  for  a  far  different  reason.  The  annexa- 
tion of  Texas  in  May,  1845,  was  made  an  excuse  for 
the  war  with  Mexico,  and  just  a  year  later  the  presi- 
dent called  for  volunteers.  Illinois's  apportionment 
was  four  regiments. 

A  wave  of  patriotism  swept  over  the  state.  Men 
were  enlisting  everywhere.  The  women  formed 
sewing  societies  to  make  uniforms,  for  each  soldier 
provided  his  own,  and  was  later  reimbursed  for  his 
outlay.  By  the  middle  of  June  nine  regiments  were 
enrolled,  but  only  the  four  asked  for  could  be  ac- 
cepted. 

The  United  States  had  at  that  time  a  very  small 
regular  army,  and  the  brunt  of  the  war  fell  on  the 
volunteers.  The  quickness  of  their  assembling,  their 
prodigious  journeys,  their  splendid  esprit  de  corps, 
are  among  the  wonderful  incidents  of  the  war. 
They  made  long  marches  over  mountainous  and  des- 

145 


146  ILLINOIS 

olate  country,  over  arid  prairies  under  a  tropical  sun. 
They  reached  the  enervating  southern  climate  in  the 
very  heat  of  midsummer.  There  was  an  unprece- 
dented amount  of  sickness. 

"Heat — heat — heat ;"  wrote  home  one  Illinois  sol- 
dier, "rain — rain — rain;  mud — mud — mud,  inter- 
mingled with  spots  of  sand  gravel,  form  the  prin- 
cipal features  of  the  route  from  Levacca  to  San 
Antonio.  Loaded  wagons,  of  course,  moved  slowly 
over  the  roads,  and  our  troops  were  scourged  on  the 
route  by  the  mumps  and  measles."1 

The  Illinois  regiments  missed  Palo  Alto  and 
Monterey,  but  did  arrive  in  time  to  fight  at  Buena 
Vista,  to  help  invest  Vera  Cruz,  and  to  storm  the 
last  stronghold  of  the-  Mexicans  at  Cerro  Gordo. 

Special  praise  they  won  at  Buena  Vista,  a  narrow 
pass  in  the  mountains,  called  "a  perfect  Thermopy- 
lae." Santa  Anna,  with  a  force  of  twenty  thousand 
men,  entered  the  valley  on  the  twenty-second  of  Feb- 
ruary. In  honor  of  the  day  the  American  watch- 
word was  "the  memory  of  Washington."  The  Mex- 
icans sent  Taylor  a  flag  of  truce,  assuring  him  he 
would  be  cut  to  pieces  and  summoning  him  to  sur- 
render. The  answer  was,  "General  Taylor  never 
surrenders,"  though  his  force  was  less  than  five 
thousand.  That  night  the  Americans  bivouacked  on 
the  field,  without  fires,  resting  on  their  arms.  It  was 


IN   THE    MEXICAN    WAR  147 

cold  and  dreary,  with  rain  and  gusts  of  wind.  Santa 
Anna  made  a  speech  to  his  soldiers,  telling  in  burn- 
ing words  the  wrongs  heaped  on  Mexico  by  the  bar- 
barians from  the  north,  who  could  plainly  hear  the 
vivas  greeting  him.  They  could  hear  the  Mexican 
band  playing  till  late  in  the  night.2 

The  next  morning  the  battle  began,  lasting  till 
dark.  Because  of  the  deep  gullies  and  gorges,  only 
a  limited  number  of  men  could  fight  at  one  place. 
And  in  some  of  the  attacks  the  Mexicans  charged 
six  to  one,  eight  to  one,  even  ten  to  one.  But  the 
Americans  stubbornly  resisted,  no  matter  how  over- 
whelming the  numbers  of  the  enemy.  Illinois  vol- 
unteers, never  under  fire  before,  made  a  gallant 
twenty-minute  charge  that  practically  won  the  day, 
and  during  the  night  Santa  Anna  withdrew  from  the 
field.  This  was  the  most  stubborn  battle  of  the  war, 
and  its  turning  point. 

"The  first  and  second  Illinois  and  the  Kentucky 
regiments,"  wrote  Taylor  in  his  official  report, 
"served  immediately  under  my  eye,  and  I  bear  a  will- 
ing testimony  to  their  excellent  conduct  throughout 
the  day.  The  spirit  and  gallantry  with  which  the 
First  Illinois  and  Second  Kentucky  engaged  the  en- 
emy in  the  morning,  restored  confidence  to  that  part 
of  the  field,  while  the  list  of  casualties  will  show  how 
much  these  three  regiments  suffered  in  sustaining 
the  heavy  charge  of  the  enemy  in  the  afternoon."3 


148  ILLINOIS 

In  every  battle  the  officers  and  men  of  Illinois 
distinguished  themselves.  Their  daring  courage  and 
intrepid  valor  won  honor  for  themselves  and  glory 
for  the  state.  Nobly  Illinois  acted  her  part,  gain- 
ing character  and  standing  by  the  extraordinary  ef- 
forts of  her  soldiers.  Because  of  the  few  men  en- 
gaged the  victories  of  Scott  and  Taylor  were  the 
more  brilliant.  Indeed,  it  has  been  said  that  the 
only  battles  in  history  to  be  compared  with  these 
in  the  Mexican  War  are  the  stories  in  the  Old  Tes- 
tament. 

The  Illinois  troops,  enlisted  for  one  year,  were 
mustered  out  in  May,  1847.  Two  more  regiments 
were  sent  to  Mexico,  but  they  had  only  skirmishes 
with  guerrillas,  and  heavy  losses  from  sickness.  For 
the  war  was  practically  over,  and  peace  was  made 
early  in  1848. 

The  troops  brought  home  as  a  trophy  a  cannon 
which  they  captured  at  Cerro  Gordo  and  turned  on 
the  enemy.  Charging,  there  on  the  retreating  Mex- 
icans, they  came  on  the  carriage  of  Santa  Anna. 
Only  a  few  moments  before  he  had  escaped  on  one 
of  the  mules,  cut  from  the  traces.  Among  the  ef- 
fects found  in  the  carriage  was  the  general's  wooden 
leg.  It  was  held  up  to  the  view  of  the  soldiers,  and 
brought  back  to  Illinois.4  And  to  this  day  it  is  one 
of  the  treasures  in  Memorial  Hall  in  the  state  house. 


XX 


THE  CODE  OF  HONOR 

THE  practise  of  dueling,  an  inheritance  from 
the  French,  was  never  so  popular  in  Illinois 
as  in  many  other  states.     But  her  history  tells  of 
some  interesting  challenges,  and  she  took  a  leading 
part  in  abolishing  this  custom. 

The  first  duel  in  Illinois  was  in  1765,  when  the 
British  troops  came  to  take  possession  of  Fort  Char- 
tres.  Two  young  officers,  one  French,  the  other 
English,  were  rival  suitors  for  the  hand  of  a  young 
lady  in  the  neighborhood.1  A  quarrel  arose  which 
led  to  a  challenge.  One  Sunday  morning  they 
fought  with  small  swords  near  the  fort  and  the 
English  officer  was  killed.  The  Frenchman  made 
haste  to  go  down  the  Mississippi  to  New  Orleans, 
showing  how  the  public  of  that  early  day  felt  to- 
ward dueling. 

When  the  separation  of  Illinois  and  Indiana  was 
being  excitedly  discussed,  a  personal  controversy 
developed  between  Rice  Jones,  a  promising  young 
lawyer,  and  Shadrach  Bond.  A  challenge  and  ac- 
ceptance followed.  They  met  on  an  island  near 

149 


150  ILLINOIS 

Kaskaskia.  The  weapons  were  hair-trigger  pistols, 
and  Jones's  was  discharged  prematurely.  Bond's 
second  claimed  that,  according  to  the  code,  it  was 
now  his  turn  to  fire.  But  Bond,  unwilling  to  take 
such  a  murderous  advantage  of  his  adversary,  cried 
out,  "No,  it  was  an  accident!"  and  refused.  To 
conduct  so  noble  Jones  responded,  their  difficulty 
was  reconciled,  and  they  left  the  field  together.  But 
later  the  second  quarreled  with  Jones,  and  assassi- 
nated him  in  the  street,  while  he  was  talking  to  a 
lady.  The  murderer  escaped  to  Texas,  but  public 
opinion  was  aroused.  The  following  year  Governor 
Edwards  and  the  judges  adopted  a  law  that  a  fatal 
duel  was  murder.  The  men  aiding  the  principals 
were  equally  guilty.2  Sending  or  accepting  a  chal- 
lenge prevented  a  man  from  holding  any  office  of 
honor  or  trust.  This  was  an  important  step  in  sup- 
pressing dueling. 

In  1819  occurred  the  first  and  last  fatal  duel  in 
the  state.  At  a  carousal  in  Belleville  two  men  quar- 
reled, and  a  sham  duel  was  proposed,  to  provide 
some  rare  sport  for  the  crowd.  The  weapons  were 
to  be  rifles,  loaded  with  powder  only.  The  com- 
batants took  their  places,  forty  steps  apart,  and  at 
the  signal  both  fired.  One  man  fell,  mortally 
wounded,  and  died  in  a  few  minutes.  His  opponent, 
suspecting  a  cheat,  had  secretly  slipped  a  ball  into 
his  rifle. 


THE   CODE    OF    HONOR  151 

Arrested,  the  murderer  escaped  from  jail.  Two 
years  later  he  was  discovered  in  Arkansas,  brought 
back  to  Belleville  by  a  trick,  tried  and  convicted. 
Governor  Bond  was  besieged  with  petitions  for  his 
pardon.  But  the  man  who  had  refused  twelve  years 
before  to  take  advantage  of  his  foe  would  not  yield 
in  this  case  and  the  murderer  was  hanged.  Bond's 
firmness  in  insisting  on  the  execution  of  the  law 
had  much  to  do  with  making  dueling  unpopular  and 
discredited.3 

A  few  years  later  an  unusual  duel  took  place  in 
a  mining  camp  near  Galena.  Two  men  fell  out  and 
agreed  to  fight  a  duel  with  rocks.  Two  piles  of 
stones,  alike  in  number  and  size,  were  arranged  ten 
paces  apart  by  the  seconds,  and  the  coni^atants  sta- 
tioned by  them.  Stones  flew  thick  and  last  for  a 
time,  but  one  man  was  so  strong  and  so  expert  in 
throwing  that  the  other  had  to  flee  to  save  his  life. 
So  this  duel  was  of  short  duration. 

During  the  legislature  of  1840  so  many  "affairs 
of  honor"  were  threatened  among  the  members  that 
one  senator  proposed  the  dueling  law  should  be  sus- 
pended for  a  fortnight,  to  give  full  opportunity  for 
the  settling  of  all  personal  d'fficulties.  One  case,  be- 
tween a  youthful  member  of  the  house  and  a  su- 
preme court  judge,  actually  went  so  far  that  time 
and  place  and  weapons  had  been  agreed  upon,  when 
a  complaint  was  lodged  by  the  attorney-general  of 


152  ILLINOIS 

Illinois.  A  warrant  was  issued,  the  judge  arrested, 
and  placed  under  bond  to  keep  the  peace.4  This  was 
the  end  compassed  by  mutual  friends  in  several  of 
these  "affairs." 

The  most  famous  duel  in  Illinois  was  the  one 
where  Shields  challenged  Lincoln.  The  state  treas- 
urer and  Shields,  the  auditor,  had  issued  a  procla- 
mation that  taxes  must  be  paid  in  specie,  not  in  paper 
money.  This  was  the  year  when  the  state  bank 
failed,  the  very  worst  of  the  hard  times.  Lincoln 
wrote  a  letter  to  a  Springfield  newspaper,  dated 
from  "Lost  Township,"  a  dialogue  between  Aunt 
Rebecca  and  a  neighbor  who  had 

"been  tugging  ever  since  harvest  getting  out  wheat 
and  hauling  it  to  the  river  to  raise  State  Bank 
paper  enough  to  pay  my  tax  this  year  and  a  little 
school  debt  I  owe ;  and  now,  just  as  I've  got  it,  here 
I  open  this  infernal  EXTRA  REGISTER,  expect- 
ing to  find  it  full  of  'Glorious  Democratic  Victories' 
and  'High  Comb'd  Cocks,'  when,  lo  and  behold! 
I  find  a  set  of  fellows,  calling  themselves  officers  of 
the  State,  have  forbidden  the  tax  collectors  and 
school  commissioners  to  receive  State  paper  at  all; 
and  so  here  it  is  dead  on  my  hands." 

"Shields  is  a  fool  as  well  as  a  liar.  With  him 
truth  is  out  of  the  question;  and  as  for  getting  a 
good,  bright,  passable  lie  out  of  him,  you  might  as 
well  try  to  strike  fire  from  a  cake  of  tallow.  .  .  . 


THE    CODE   OF    HONOR  153 

He's  a  Whig,  and  no  mistake;  nobody  but  a  Whig 
could  make  such  a  conceity  dunce  of  himself.  .  .  . 
And  now,  Mr.  Printer,  will  you  be  sure  to  let  us 
know  in  your  next  paper  whether  this  Shields  is  a 
Whig  or  a  Democrat?  ...  I  know  well  enough 
how  it  is  already;  but  I  want  to  convince  Jeff.  It 
may  do  some  good  to  let  him,  and  others  like  him, 
know  who  and  what  these  officers  of  State  are.  It 
may  help  to  send  the  present  hypocritical  set  to 
where  they  belong,  and  to  fill  the  places  they  now 
disgrace  with  men  who  will  do  more  work  for  less 
pay,  and  take  a  fewer  airs  while  they  are  doing  it."5 

A  week  later  a  second  letter  was  published,  and 
then  Rebecca  sent  a  third  in  rhyme.  These  were 
written,  not  by  Lincoln,  but  by  two  young  ladies  in 
Springfield,  one  of  whom  he  afterward  married, 
while  the  other  became  Mrs.  Lyman  Trumbull. 
These  publications  subjected  the  vain  and  irascible 
Irish  auditor  of  Illinois  to  merriment  and  ridicule 
on  every  side.  Instead  of  laughing  at  the  satire,  he 
demanded  of  the  editor  the  name  of  the  author  who 
was  attacking  his  "private  character  and  standing 
as  a  man." 

"Give  him  my  name,"  said  Lincoln,  "and  say  not 
a  word  about  the  young  ladies." 

Shields  demanded  a  full,  positive  and  absolute 
retraction  and  apology  for  the  insults.  Lincoln 
could  not  in  honor  say  that  the  second  and  third 
letters  were  written  by  two  estimable  ladies.  And 


154  ILLINOIS 

Shields  was  not  satisfied  by  his  saying  that  in  writ- 
ing the  first  letter  he  was  concerned  only  with  its 
political  effect  and  had  no  thought  of  anything  per- 
sonal. He  was  promptly  challenged  to  a  duel  and 
accepted. 

"I  am  wholly  opposed  to  dueling,  and  will  do 
anything  to  avoid  it,"  he  said,  "that  will  not  de- 
grade me  in  the  estimation  of  myself  and  friends; 
but  if  degradation  or  a  fight  are  the  alternatives,  I 
shall  fight."6 

As  the  challenged  party  had  the  privilege  of 
choosing  weapons  and  position,  Lincoln  selected 
cavalry  broadswords  of  the  largest  size;  and  stipu- 
lated that  a  board  should  be  set  up  between  him  and 
Shields,  over  which  they  were  to  hack  away  at  each 
other,  at  a  distance  of  three  feet  more  than  the 
length  of  the  sword.  In  spite  of  the  length  of  Lin- 
coln's arms,  this  placed  them  both  out  of  harm's 
way! 

Lincoln  insisted  that  as  dueling  was  against  the 
law  in  Illinois,  the  meeting  should  be  in  Missouri. 
The  affair  went  so  far  that  the  combatants  actually 
left  the  state,  their  seconds  provided  with  the  two 
swords,  but  mutual  friends  patched  up  a  reconcilia- 
tion and  the  ludicrous  duel  never  came  off.  Later 
Shields  challenged  one  of  Lincoln's  seconds,  and  a 
third  duel  was  threatened  between  two  of  the 
"friends";  but  these,  like  the  original  one,  came  to 


THE    CODE   OF    HONOR  .155 

nothing.  And  the  whole  affair,  which  Lincoln  used 
to  call  "my  scrape  with  Shields,"  through  ridicule 
and  derision,  tended  the  more  to  discredit  dueling. 

Outside  the  state  there  were  three  duels  where 
Illinoisans  were  involved.  Two  on  the  Pacific  coast 
resulted  fatally,  and  E.  D.  Baker,  pronouncing  the 
funeral  oration,  launched  a  marvelous  philippic 
against  dueling,  which  stirred  the  nation.  "The 
code  of  honor  is  a  delusion  and  a  snare  ...  a 
shield,  blazoned  with  the  name  of  chivalry,  to  cover 
the  malignity  of  murder."7 

The  third  was  in  Washington,  during  the  long 
discussions  before  the  compromise  of  1850  was 
adopted,  when  southern  congressmen  vaunted  their 
chivalry  and  disparaged  northern  courage  by  fre- 
quent reference  to  the  Mexican  War.  A  Virginian 
tried  to  award  the  whole  credit  for  the  battle  of 
Buena  Vista  to  a  Mississippi  regiment,  commanded 
by  Jefferson  Davis,  then  United  States  senator.  Ex- 
ception was  taken  by  a  member  from  Illinois,  Colo- 
nel Bissell,  whose  regiment  had  charged  and  snatched 
victory  from  defeat.  His  brilliant  reply  vindicated 
the  courage  of  the  northerners  and  pricked  the  vain 
assumption  of  the  south.  Davis  at  once  challenged 
him — as  if  a  duel  could  vary  the  facts  of  history 
and  move  his  regiment  a  mile  and  a  half  nearer  the 
scene  of  action ! 

All  Washington  was  on  the  qui  vive.  K 


156  ILLINOIS 

"Will  he  accept?  Will  Bissell  stand  fire?"  they 
asked. 

Daniel  Webster  came  over  from  the  senate  to  the 
floor  of  the  house,  and  asked  to  be  introduced  to 
him.  "He  will  do,  the  south  has  mistaken  its  man," 
was  his  comment. 

Promptly  the  challenge  was  accepted.  Bissell 
selected  the  common  army  musket,  loaded  with  a 
ball  and  three  buckshot,  the  combatants  to  be  sta- 
tioned at  forty  paces,  with  liberty  to  advance  to 
ten.  This  showed  his  purpose  to  fight  to  the  death, 
and  the  southerners  were  amazed. 

"But  an  army  musket  is  not  the  weapon  of  a 
gentleman,"  protested  Davis. 

"No  real  gentleman  settles  a  difference  by  fight- 
ing a  duel,"  was  Bissell's  reply. 

The  meeting  was  to  take  place  on  the  last  day  of 
February.  The  evening  before,  the  president,  who 
was  the  father-in-law  of  Jefferson  Davis,  took  le- 
gal steps  to  stop  the  duel.  But  after  midnight  mu- 
tual friends  effected  a  reconciliation,  the  challenge 
was  withdrawn,  and  the  affair  ended,  a  source  of  no 
little  pride  to  Illinoisans.8 


XXI 

REAL  IMPROVEMENTS 

ILLINOIS  found,  by  bitter  experience,  that  im- 
provements in  transportation  could  not  be  wisely 
and  economically  made  by  the  state.    But  the  fail- 
ure of  the  internal  improvement  system  could  not 
long  delay  the  canal. 

A  water  connection  between  Lake  Michigan  and 
the  Illinois  River  had  been  suggested  by  Joliet  in 
1673.  The  following  year  Father  Dablon  wrote : 

"According  to  the  researches  and  explorations  of 
Joliet,  we  can  easily  go  to  Florida  in  boats,  and  by 
a  very  good  navigation,  with  slight  improvements. 
There  will  be  but  one  canal  to  make — and  that  by 
cutting  only  one-half  a  league  of  prairie  from  the 
lake  of  the  Illinois  (Michigan)  into  the  St.  Louis 
river  (the  Illinois),  which  empties  into  the  Missis- 
sippi. .  .  .  The  bark,  having  entered  this  river, 
could  easily  sail  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico."1 

La  Salle  mentions  it,  then  silence  until  1795, 
when  the  Indians  by  treaty  gave  "a  free  passage 
by  .land  and  by  water,  as  one  and  the  other  shall 

157 


158  ILLINOIS 

be  found  convenient,  through  their  country,  from 
the  mouth  of  the  Chicago  to  the  commencement  of 
the  portage  between  that  river  and  the  Illinois,  and 
down  the  Illinois  river  to  the  Mississippi." 

From  that  time  on  it  was  frequently  discussed, 
as  the  link  between  east  and  west,  important  for 
military  and  commercial  purposes.  Governor  Ed- 
wards, urging  the  construction  of  the  canal,  made 
a  treaty  with  the  Indians  for  a  tract  of  land  ten 
miles  wide  on  either  side  of  the  suggested  route 
from  the  lake  to  the  Illinois  River.  The  red  men 
received  "a  considerable  quantity  of  merchandise" 
and  a  promise  of  goods  to  the  value  of  a  thousand 
dollars  a  year  for  twelve  years — the  amount  so  small 
because  the  Indians  were  assured  of  the  canal's  ad- 
-  vantages  to  them:  they  could  ply  their  canoes  on 
its  surface,  and  seek  their  game! 

Beginning  in  1818,  with  Governor  Bond,  each 
governor  in  his  message  to  the  legislature  urged  the 
canal.  Because  the  portage  was  so  short  it  was  re- 
garded as  easily  accomplished.  More  than  once  the 
state  gave  money  for  a  survey.  An  early  estimate 
of  the  cost  was  six  hundred  forty  thousand  dollars. 
The  legislature  in  1826  asked  Congress  for  aid  in 
building  the  canal.  Through  the  efforts  of  Daniel 
P.  Cook,  one  of  the  Illinois  representatives,  the  fed- 
eral government  gave  to  the  state  alternate  sections 
of  land  on  both  sides  of  the  canal  for  five  miles. 


REAL   IMPROVEMENTS  159 

This  totaled  nearly  three  hundred  thousand  acres, 
and  included  the  original  site  of  Chicago.2  People 
called  it  "the  sheet  anchor  of  the  canal." 

At  one  time  the  plans  were  abandoned  entirely 
and  it  was  decided  to  build  a  railroad  instead  of 
the  canal,  as  this  would  cost  only  one  million  in- 
stead of  four.  An  attempt  to  have  a  private  corpo- 
ration build  the  canal  was  made  and  a  charter  se- 
cured, but  no  stock  was  sold.  Finally,  when  the 
internal  improvement  craze  was  on,  the  friends  of 
the  canal,  in  the  general  log-rolling  of  that  session 
of  the  legislature,  by  voting  for  railroads  all  over 
the  state,  secured  votes  for  their  measure,  and  canal 
bonds  were  issued.  This  expense  of  a  million  and 
a  half  was  not  included  in  the  eight  millions  of  in- 
ternal improvements,  for  the  canal  was  always  kept 
separate. 

Ground  was  broken  on  the  fourth  of  July,  1836, 
and  at  this  time  the  cost  was  estimated  at  nearly 
nine  million  dollars — four  times  the  cost  of  the  Erie 
Canal,  but  its  dimensions  were  larger.  Much  of 
the  route  lay  through  marshy  lands,  flooded  in 
spring  and  autumn,  difficult  of  access.  The  first 
year  forty  thousand  was  spent  on  roads  leading  to 
the  canal  site !  The  excavating  through  rock  proved 
enormously  expensive.  The  country  bordering  the 
canal  was  settled  scatteringly,  and  afforded  no  shel- 
ter and  no  provisions  for  the  laborers.  All  supplies 


160  ILLINOIS 

had  to  be  brought  from  abroad.  Workmen  were 
paid  from  twenty  to  thirty  dollars  a  month,  plus 
board.  Potatoes  cost  in  Chicago  seventy-five  cents 
a  bushel,  flour  twelve  dollars  a  barrel,  and  other 
articles  in  proportion.3  So  the  high  cost  of  living  in 
1836  made  the  canal  an  expensive  undertaking. 

The  grand  muddle  of  the  state's  finances,  follow- 
ing the  failure  of  the  banks  and  the  internal  im- 
provement system,  involved  the  canal  in  temporary 
difficulties.  There  were  no  funds  to  meet  the  in- 
terest on  the  canal  bonds.  All  work  stopped  for 
two  or  three  years.  Illinois  investments  were  uni- 
versally discredited.  A  Chicago  lawyer  proposed 
that  the  state  give  the  canal  in  trust  to  the  bond- 
holders :  they  to  finish  it,  manage  the  property,  and 
receive  the  tolls,  in  return  for  taking  additional 
bonds  for  one  million  six  hundred  thousand  dollars. 
The  canal  to  be  their  property  until  all  the  bonds 
were  redeemed.  This  plan  was  adopted  by  the  leg- 
islature, and  the  day  was  saved  for  the  canal.  For 
the  primary  object  of  the  state  was  to  open  this  ave- 
nue of  commerce  for  the  benefit  of  the  public,  not 
to  have  the  income  it  might  yield. 

Finally  the  canal  was  completed  and  the  first  boat 
passed  through  in  April,  1848,  celebrated  with  en- 
thusiastic demonstrations  along  the  entire  route.  It 
remained  the  property  of  the  trustees  for  the  bond- 


REAL    IMPROVEMENTS  161 

holders  for  twenty-six  years  and  then  reverted  to 
the  state. 

In  1865  sanitary  reasons  made  it  imperative  to 
deepen  the  canal — to  turn  the  pure  waters  of  the 
lake  into  the  shallow,  disease-breeding  Qhicago 
River  and  reverse  its  current  into  the  Illinois.!  Since 
the  opening  of  the  Panama  Canal  plans  are  fbrming 
to  make  Illinois's  waterway  deep  enough  for  ocean 
vessels,  that  can  then  load  their  grain  at  Chicago,  go 
down  the  Mississippi  to  the  gulf,  and  cross  to  South 
America  or  Europe,  or  through  the  isthmus  into 
the  Pacific. 

The  total  cost  of  the  canal  has  been  twenty  times 
the  original  estimate,  but  the  sales  of  land  paid 
nearly  half  of  this.  Contrary  to  the  hopes  of  its 
early  supporters,  its  income  has  failed  to  pay  the 
expenses  of  the  state  government.  But,  through 
the  leases  of  water  power  and  land  and  ice,  the  sales 
of  clay  an<i  stone,  and  the  tolls,  it  is  no  longer  an 
expense  to  Illinois. 

But  more  than  the  canal  Illinois  needed  railroads 
to  market  her  surplus  products.  They  must  be  built 
by  private  companies,  not  by  the  state.  The  first 
railroad  in  the  United  States  was  in  use  by  1830, 
and  just  six  years  later  the  first  one  in  Illinois,  a 
road  six  miles  long,  to  carry  coal  to  the  Mississippi 
River  opposite  St.  Louis.  Next  a  road  was  planned 


162  ILLINOIS 

/from  Chicago  to  Galena,  and  a  part  of  it  was  actu- 
/ally  built.  The  third  was  one  of  the  internal  im- 
f  provements,  which  the  state  was  glad  to  sell  for  a 
tenth  of  its  cost.4 

And  then  came  the  Illinois  Central,  called  "the 
most  splendid  and  most  magnificent  road  in  Amer- 
ica" ;  and  to-day  Illinois  has  more  miles  of  railroads 
than  any  other  state  in  the  Union.  In  October, 
1835,  Sidney  Breese,  in  a  newspaper  letter,  called 
attention  to  the  importance  of  a  railroad  connecting 
the  canal  with  the  lower  Mississippi,  by  a  route  that 
would  never  be  obstructed  by  low  water  or  ice.  The 
grand  scheme  to  join  Cairo  and  Chicago  was  part 
of  the  internal  improvement  craze,  and  the  sum  of 
six  hundred  thousand  dollars  was  voted  for  this 
road.  Some  work  was  actually  done,  but  it  was 
abandoned  with  the  collapse  of  the  system. 

Various  plans  were  made  during  the  next  decade, 
and  a  bill  introduced  in  Congress  granting  land  for 
railroad  purposes.  This  twice  passed  the  senate, 
but  failed  in  the  house,  once  by  two  votes.  It  finally 
succeeded  in  1850,  largely  through  the  efforts  of 
Stephen  A.  Douglas.5  The  people  and  newspapers 
of  the  state  hailed  the  news  with  joyful  demonstra- 
tions. Chicago  celebrated  with  the  firing  of  can- 
non and  a  public  dinner  to  Douglas,  but  he  modestly 
insisted  that  his  colleagues  in  the  house  should  be 
included. 


REAL   IMPROVEMENTS  163 

The  grant  from  Congress  gave  to  Illinois  a  right 
of  way  two  hundred  feet  wide  from  Cairo  to  the 
south  end  of  the  canal,  branching  there  to  Chicago 
and  Galena;  and  the  even  numbered  sections  of 
land  on  each  side  of  this  right  of  way  for  six  miles 
— a  total  of  nearly  three  million  acres.  The  state 
chartered  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company, 
giving  to  this  corporation  the  lands  granted  by  Con- 
gress, with  the  provision  that,  instead  of  taxes,  the 
road  should  pay  seven  per  cent,  of  its  gross  income 
each  year  to  the  state  treasurer. 

With  the  land  as  security,  stock  and  bonds  for 
the  new  road  sold  at  par,  sales  of  land  paid  the 
interest  charges  and  yielded  so  much  more  that  the 
road  almost  paid  for  itself !  Work  began  in  north 
and  south  in  1852  and  continued  with  little  inter- 
ruption. The  main  line  was  completed  by  June 
of  1855,  the  branches  by  September  of  the  follow- 
ing year,  though  trains  began  running  as  soon  as 
any  one  portion  was  finished. 

Through  the  wildest  and  most  sparsely  settled 
sections  of  the  state  this  road  was  laid  out.  Deer 
and  wild  game  roamed  at  will.  Neither  house  nor 
tree  was  to  be  seen,  frequently,  on  the  boundless 
prairies.  And  in  the  entire  route  of  seven  hundred 
miles  it  did  not  pass  through  a  dozen  towns  large 
enough  to  be  on  the  map.6 

But  the  national  government  did  not  lose  by  this 


164  ILLINOIS 

generous  grant  to  Illinois.  Its  land  had  been  on 
the  market  for  twenty  years,  at  a  dollar  and  a  quar- 
ter an  acre,  yet  found  no  purchasers.  With  the  rail- 
road a  certainty,  this  same  land  sold  for  an  average 
price  of  five  dollars  an  acre;  and  the  federal  govern- 
ment, by  casting  its  bread  on  the  waters,  made  some- 
thing over  nine  millions. 

And  the  results  to  the  state  were  no  less  marked. 
The  unsettled  interior  was  opened  to  immigrants. 
The  rich  soil  was  brought  into  cultivation.  Almost 
overnight  ten  million  acres  in  private  hands  in- 
creased in  value  and  added  forty  millions  to  the 
taxable  wealth  of  Illinois.  The  rich  agricultural 
and  mineral  products  of  the  newly  developed  region 
found  ready  markets.  Chicago  had  another  "boost" 
in  her  marvelous  growth.7 

Best  of  all,  in  forty  years  the  state  treasury  re- 
ceived more  money  from  the  Illinois  Central  than 
was  appropriated  for  the  whole  internal  improve- 
ment system.  Lest  the  railroad  might  try  to  have 
this  seven  per  cent,  provision  changed,  and  some 
legislature  yield  to  the  demand,  in  1870  this  was 
written  into  the  state  constitution.  And  this  income 
for  the  state,  constantly  increasing,  is  now  perpetual. 

But  more  than  the  canal  and  more  than  the  rail- 
roads the  prairie-breaking  plow  is  responsible  for 
the  prosperity  of  Illinois.  It  is  the  realest  of  her  in- 
ternal improvements.  For  it  made  the  prairie  coun- 


A   train    entering   the    Chicago    railway   station   of   the   Illinois 
Central  and  Michigan  Central  roads.     Date,  1857 


B  nODQIQO Pin  DDE  E 


Style  of  passenger  car  most  frequently  used  during  the  decade 
from  1840  to  1850.  The  windows  of  this  vehicle  were  not 
raised,  but  the  entire  panels  were  dropped  bodily  down  into 
the  sides  of  the  car 


REAL    IMPROVEMENTS  165 

try,  covering  about  two-thirds  of  the  state,  available 
for  farms.  It  opened  an  avenue  of  wealth  greater 
than  all  the  mines  of  gold  and  silver  in  the  nation. 
^The  earliest  settlers  cleared  the  timber  land  with 
axes  and  broke  its  soil  with  a  wooden  plow  banded 
with  iron.  The  prairies  they  used  only  for  pas- 
turage.  A  beautiful  wilderness  it  was — covered 
with  waving  grass,  taller  than  a  man  on  horseback ; 
with  rosin  weed,  gay  with  yellow  blooms;  with 
many  bushes  and  flowering  shrubs,  with  acres  and 
acres  of  wild  strawberries.  But  it  was  so  infested 
with  swarms  of  yellow-headed  flies,  mosquitoes  and 
buffalo  gnats  that  in  the  summer-time  travelers 
journeyed  only  at  night.8  The  pioneers  ridiculed 
the  idea  that  the  tough  prairie  sod  would  ever  yield 
to  the  civilizing  plow,  and  would  produce  greater 
crops  than  the  timber  land. 

In  1826  Oramel  Clark,  a  Connecticut  blacksmith 
who  had  settled  in  Sangamon  County,  made  a  sod 
plow.     It  was  drawn  by  oxen  and  held  to  the  fur- 
rows by  a  man  walking  behind  it,  grasping  its  han- 
dles.    But  when  the  share  struck  a  red-root,  the 
toughest  of  the  prairie  grasses,  the  handles  would 
strike  the  man,  and  usually  knocked  him  flat.    Clark,  / 
however,  was  patient  and  persisted;  and  in  1830  a  ?  - 
prairie-breaking    plow    was    achieved  —  rude    and  j 
clumsy  and  awkward,  but  efficient.9 


Fastened  to  a  six-inch  beam  of  oak  was  the  iron 


166  ILLINOIS 

share,  with  edge  of  steel.  There  were  wooden 
trucks,  one  wheel  at  the  side  and  one  in  the  fur- 
row, and  a  very  heavy  frame,  so  that  the  whole 
weighed  about  a  thousand  pounds  and  was  five  times 
as  large  as  the  plows  of  to-day.  But  it  had  a  tough 
work  to  accomplish  and  must  needs  be  massive  and 
heavy,  to  stay  in  the  furrow.  Improvements  in 
Clark's  plow  followed,  and  soon  the  crack  of  the 
ox-whip  announced  a  new  day  for  Illinois.  With 
five  or  six,  or  even  eight  yoke  of  oxen,  the  prairie 
soil  was  broken  up;  but  so  tough  and  thick  was  the 
grass  that  if  corn  was  to  be  planted  the  same  year 
holes  had  to  be  chopped  with  an  ax  or  hatchet  for 
the  kernels  to  be  dropped  in.  By  twelve  months 
later  the  grass  had  begun  to  rot. 

One  of  the  picturesque  characters  of  the  day  was 
the  old  ox  driver,  carrying  his  great  whip,  with  a 
handle  six  feet  long  and  a  twelve- foot  lash.  He 
could  wield  it  so  skilfully  that,  twenty  feet  distant, 
he  could  flick  a  prairie  fly  off  the  back  of  a  certain 
ox.  The  oxen  were  trained  to  come  under  the  yoke, 
to  turn  to  right  or  left.  They  went  slowly  but  stead- 
ily up  and  down  the  field,  turning  a  two- foot  fur- 
row, often  half  a  mile  long.  The  plowman  usually 
owned  his  oxen  and  offered  the  service  of  himself, 
his  heavy  implement,  and  his  patient  animals,  charg- 
ing from  two  to  three  dollars  an  acre.  People 
complained  at  paying  double  the  initial  cost  to  have 


REAL   IMPROVEMENTS  167 

the  land  made  ready  for  a  crop.  But  timber  land, 
cleared,  was  worth  twenty  dollars  an  acre,  and 
though  they  were  perhaps  equally  rich,  the  prairie 
land  retained  its  fertility  longer. 

This  conquest  of  Illinois,  begun  in  the  thirties, 
lasted  for  thirty  years;  a  bloodless  conquest,  not 
less  deserving  of  renown  than  victories  in  war.  Its 
results  were  a  revolution  in  western  farming,  a 
movement  and  shift  of  population  seldom  equaled 
in  the  history  of  the  world.  It  changed  millions 
of  acres  from  trackless  wilderness  into  prosperous 
farms.  People  from  the  eastern  states  and  immi- 
grants from  Europe  flocked  to  Illinois,  and  in  the 
fifties,  the  principal  decade  of  the  subjugation,  the 
population  more  than  doubled. 

But  after  the  prairies  began  to  be  cultivated  and 
prolific  crops  produced,  there  was  no  market  for 
corn  and  wheat,  flax  and  tobacco.  The  farmers 
fed  their  corn  to  cattle  and  hogs  and  drove  them 
to  St.  Louis  and  Cincinnati  and  Chicago,  sometimes 
even  over  the  mountains  to  New  York  and  Phila- 
delphia. 

Clark's  prairie-breaking  plow  was  a  John  the  Bap- 
tist in  the  Illinois  wilderness,  heralding  a  new  order 
of  things.  For  -just  in  the  years  when,  perfected, 
it  was  being  widely  used,  began  the  success  of  rail- 
roads and  farm  machinery  in  the  west.  The  very 
decade  which  saw  the  prairies  conquered  saw  the 


168  ILLINOIS 

building  of  the  Illinois  Central,  and  miles  and  miles 
of  other  roads — for  the  prosperity  of  the  farms  and 
the  success  of  railroads  are  interdependent.  The 
same  years  saw,  too,  the  invention  of  agricultural 
machinery  as  we  know  it  to-day — planters  and  cul- 
tivators, reapers  and  threshers.  Rapid  transporta- 
tion, underground  drainage,  a  wise  rotation  of 
crops,  seed  selection,  good  roads,  have  added  to 
the  agricultural  resources  of  Illinois.  To-day  the 
scientist  is  among  us.  The  soil  chemist,  trained  at 
a  state  agricultural  college,  is  teaching  the  farmers 
of  Illinois  how  to  preserve  the  fertility_pf  their 
fields,  how  to  use  and  not  abuse  the  land.  £Wko-can 
foretell  what  future  improvements  will  be? 


XXII 

THE  GROWTH   OF  A   PARTY 

UP  to  now  the  story  of  Illinois  has  been  all  her 
own,  touching  the  history  of  the  nation  only 
incidentally.  But  for  the  next  few  years  events,  in 
Illinois  are  not  a  part  of  the  country's  history,  rather 
they  are  the  story  of  the  nation.  Take  away  from 
United  States  history  these  incidents  and  you  have 
nothing  left. 

During  her  early  years  as  a  state  the  politics  of 
Illinois  were  personal  and  confused,  with  no  clear- 
cut  issues.  The  slavery  campaign  in  1824  is  the  one 
exception,  but  this  was  not  related  to  any  national 
event.  Beginning  in  the  early  thirties,  however, 
Illinois  had  definitely  organized  political  parties. 
There  were  regular  conventions  held  by  Whigs  and 
Democrats.  And  for  twenty- four  years  one  party 
carried  the  day,  for  Illinois  was  a  Democratic 
stronghold,  with  only  an  occasional  Whig  to  vary 
the  monotony  of  her  delegations  in  Congress.  By 
1850  one  of  her  senators  was  a  recognized  national 
leader  in  his  party,  and  was  even  talked  of  for  the 
presidency. 

169 


170  ILLINOIS 

On  the  question  of  slavery,  the  people  of  Illinois 
were  very  conservative.  They  had,  you  remember, 
voted  against  establishing  slavery  in  their  own  state. 
But  they  were  not  in  favor  of  interfering  with  it 
elsewhere.  You  already  know,  from  the  Lovej.oy 
story,  how  strong  the  feeling  was  against  abolition. 
And  this  was  true,  not  only  in  Alton,  but  among 
most  of  the  responsible  leaders  in  the  state.  Illinois 
congressmen  voted  as  a  unit  against  the  Wilmot 
proviso.1 

But  the  slavery  question,  like  Banquo's  ghost, 
would  not  down.  And  gradually  a  change  was 
coming.  The  underground  railroad  became  well 
organized  in  certain  Illinois  towns.  The  law  made 
every  citizen  a  slave-catcher,  and  against  this  the 
lovers  of  freedom  rebelled  and  secretly  helped  fugi- 
tives on  their  way  north.  Canada  was  their  -Mecca, 
especially  after  the  proclamation  of  Queen  Victoria 
"that  every  fugitive  from  United  States  slavery 
should  be  recognized  and  protected  as  a  British  sub- 
ject the  moment  his  foot  touched  the  soil  of  her 
domain."2 

Negroes  were  hidden  in  barns  and  garrets,  even 
in  the  cupola  of  a  church.  Supplies  of  clothing  were 
kept  in  readiness.  And  on  dark  and  stormy  nights 
this  human  freight  was  forwarded  from  one  station 
to  another.  Being  a  conductor  on  this  railroad 
meant  great  labor  and  expense,  the  risk  of  a  heavy 


THE    GROWTH    OF    A    PARTY       171 

fine  or  six  months  in  prison,  and  social  ostracism. 
But  resistance  to  the  law  increased,  and  when  one 
house  became  too  well  known  as  a  stopping  place, 
the  station  was  changed. 

Chicago  was  the  great  railroad  center  in  Illinois, 
for  slaves  could  be  sent  by  boat  to  Detroit  and  then 
slip  over  to  Canada.  Ottawa,  Quincy  and  Jackson- 
ville were  stations,  while  a  runaway  slave  was  as 
safe  on  the  streets  of  Galesburg  as  if  he  were  al- 
ready in  a  free  land. 

Politically,  too,  a  change  was  at  hand.  The  Free 
Soil  vote  in  1848  was  a  straw  showing  how  the  wind 
blew.  And  the  turn  of  the  tide  was  clearly  indicated 
by  the  criticism  poured  on  the  head  of  Senator 
Douglas,  denouncing  him  for  his  vote  on  the  fugi- 
tive slave  bill  in  1850.  Both  Whigs  and  Democrats 
had  worked  for  this  measure  and  approved  of  the 
compromise.  The  presidential  election  two  years 
later  made  the  Democratic  party  seem  well-nigh  in- 
vincible. 

But  suddenly  public  opinion  changed.  The  slav- 
ery question  came  up  again,  more  violent  and  bitter 
than  ever  before.  The  cause  was  the  Kansas-Ne- 
braska bill,  which  canceled  the  Missouri  line  by 
saying,  "Instead  of  having  an  arbitrary  division  be- 
tween free  and  slave  states,  we  will  leave  this  to 
the  people  of  each  territory  to  decide  for  them- 
selves." Douglas  called  it  "non-intervention";  the 


172  ILLINOIS 

people  named  it  "squatter  sovereignty."  Though 
it  was  suggested  by  a  Whig  senator  from  a  southern 
state,  the  credit  or  blame  for  the  measure  centered 
wholly  on  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  who  was  chairman 
of  the  committee  on  territories  and  fathered  it 
through  Congress.3 

Like  a  clap  of  thunder  in  a  clear  sky  the  Kansas- 
Nebraska  bill  came  on  the  country.  Its  passage 
was  greeted  by  salvos  of  artillery  in  Washington, 
announcing  a  triumph.  But  the  booming  of  these 
cannon  wakened  the  echoes  and  aroused  the  north, 
filling  the  people  with  indignation.  It  caused  a 
spontaneous  combustion,  kindling  the  fires  of  free- 
dom and  forming  a  new  group  in  politics.  Every- 
where it  made  fatal  changes  in  the  old  party  lines. 
The  Whigs  became  a  name  only.  The  Free  Soilers 
and  the  American  party,  with  many  ardent  ex- 
Democrats  and  zealous  ex- Whigs,  plus  citizens  of 
foreign  birth,  joined  to  create  the  Republican  party. 
These  odds  and  ends,  incongruous,  heterogeneous, 
largely  through  the  shrewd  advice  of  Abraham  Lin- 
coln, were  fused  into  harmony  and  union.  The 
members  disagreed  on  almost  every  question,  but 
did  agree  in  this  one  thing :  opposition  to  the  repeal 
of  the  Missouri  Compromise.4  The  Republicans 
were  wise  in  selecting  their  time,  Lincoln  skilful  in 
choosing  this  one  issue. 

In  the  local  elections  in  1854  Illinois  went  anti- 


THE    GROWTH    OF   A    PARTY      173 

Nebraska,  and  the  new  party  had  votes  enough  in 
the  legislature  to  elect  a  senator.  But  they  had  two 
candidates,  Lincoln,  almost  their  unanimous  choice, 
and  Lyman  Trumbull,  an  ex-Democrat.  The  ex- 
citement became  intense  as  the  balloting  continued 
and  the  Democratic  candidate  crept  up  within  three 
of  a  majority.  Quick  to  see  the  impending  danger, 
Lincoln,  placing  principle  above  self,  besought  his 
friends  to  support  Trumbull.  Judge  Logan  trans- 
ferred his  vote  with  tears,  the  others  followed,  and 
Trumbull,  strongly  anti-Nebraska,  became  senator.5 
Two  years  later  the  Republicans,  like  an  infant  Her- 
cules, were  strong  enough  to  secure  the  governor- 
ship, though  the  legislature  was  Democratic. 

Meanwhile  the  Nebraska  matter  had  assumed  a 
new  phase.  Douglas's  principle  of  squatter  sov- 
ereignty, if  honestly  applied  and  fairly  carried  out 
in  a  new  territory,  offered  the  chance  of  a  peaceful 
solution  of  this  burning  question.  But  to  Kansas 
and  Nebraska  armed  immigrants  were  promptly  sent 
by  the  north,  while  armed  slave  holders  pressed 
over  the  Missouri  border.  Naturally  collision  fol- 
lowed and  border  war.  The  Lecompton  constitu- 
tion, forcing  slavery  on  an  unwilling  people,  voted 
through  by  fraud,  was  opposed  by  Douglas.  Its 
submission  to  the  people,  he  said,  was  a  mockery 
and  an  insult,  and  he  would  resist  it  to  the  last, 
as  illegal  and  unfair.6  He  became  the  champion  of 


174  ILLINOIS 

the  people  of  Kansas,  standing  with  the  "black  Re- 
publicans" against  his  Democratic  friends.  He  dis- 
regarded party  ties,  he  opposed  the  wish  of  Presi- 
dent Buchanan,  though  he  knew  the  slave  power 
would  not  forgive  him.  And  the  Republican  news- 
papers heartily  praised  his  course. 

Another  event  changed  the  temper  of  the  peo- 
ple. This  was  the  famous  Dred  Scott  decision, 
making  it  legal  for  a  slave  owner  to  take  his  negroes 
into  a  free  state  and  still  own  them  as  personal 
property.  Look  up  this  test  case  and  see  how  Illi- 
nois touches  the  story  of  Dred  Scott  and  his  wife 
Harriet.  Look  up,  too,  the  members  of  the  supreme 
court,  and  see  how  many  of  them  were  southerners, 
and  you  can  then  understand  their  decision  about 
the  slaves  of  this  army  surgeon.7  Douglas  upheld 
the  court,  Lincoln  opposed  it. 

As  regards  the  slavery  question,  Lincoln  saw  that 
men  must  now  stand  on  one  side  or  the  other,  with 
no  middle  ground  and  no  third  party.  He  was  to 
make  a  speech  in  a  Republican  state  convention,  and 
submitted  this  paragraph  to  his  friends : 

"  'A  house  divided  against  itself  can  not  stand.' 
I  believe  this  government  can  not  endure  perma- 
nently half  slave  and  half  free.  I  do  not  expect 
the  Union  to  be  dissolved — I  do  not  expect  the  house 
to  fall — but  I  do  expect  that  it  will  cease  to  be  di- 


THE    GROWTH    OF   A    PARTY      175 

vided.  It  will  become  all  one  thing  or  all  the 
other.  Either  the  opponents  of  slavery  will  arrest 
the  further  spread  of  it  and  place  it  where  the  pub- 
lic mind  shall  rest  in  the  belief  that  it  is  in  the 
course  of  ultimate  extinction,  or  its  advocates  will 
push  it  forward,  till  it  shall  become  alike  lawful  in 
all  the  states,  old  as  well  as  new,  north  as  well  as 
south." 

His  friends  were  startled  at  this  radical  sugges- 
tion. Only  one  of  them  approved. 

"  'It  will  never  do  for  you  to  make  that  speech,' 
they  urged.  'What  you  say  is  true,  but  the  time 
has  not  come  for  you  to  say  it.  It  will  defeat  your 
election.  It  will  ruin  the  party.' 

"  'My  friends,'  Lincoln  replied,  'the  time  has  come 
when  these  sentiments  should  be  uttered;  and  if 
it  is  decreed  that  I  should  go  down  because  of  this 
speech,  then  let  me  go  down  linked  to  the  truth — let 
me  die  in  the  advocacy  of  what  is  just  and  right.'  "8 

And  after  the  speech  was  made  and  he  had  been 
nominated  as  candidate  for  senator,  he  wrote  to  a 
pessimistic  friend,  "If  I  had  to  draw  my  pen  across 
my  record  and  erase  my  whole  life  from  sight,  and 
if  I  had  one  poor  choice  left  as  to  what  I  should 
save  from  the  wreck,  I  should  choose  that  speech 
and  leave  it  to  the  world  as  it  is." 

Lincoln  and  Douglas  were  the  standard  bearers 


176  ILLINOIS 

of  their  parties.  They  spoke  at  Chicago,  on  suc- 
cessive days,  and  again  in  Springfield,  and  then  Lin- 
coln challenged  Douglas  to  a  series  of  joint  debates. 
This  method  of  presenting  a  political  issue  had  come 
to  Illinois  from  Kentucky,  and  the  people  had  al- 
ways favored  it.  Candidates  must  be  accustomed 
to  public  speaking  and  willing  to  meet  their  oppo- 
nents on  the  stump  or  they  had  no  chance  of  success 
at  the  polls.  There  were  no  daily  papers  and  few 
weeklies  in  the  pioneer  days.  And  a  public  debate 
was  the  best  way  to  tell  the  people  about  political 
matters.  A  candidate  could  not  mislead  his  hearers 
when  both  were  heard  at  one  meeting.  By  1858, 
of  course,  the  reason  for  debates,  through  the  mul- 
tiplication of  papers  and  magazines,  had  disap- 
peared. Yet  people  still  felt  that  hearing  the  leaders 
argue  was  the  best  way  to  arrive  at  the  merits  of 
any  political  controversy.9 

Douglas  accepted  the  challenge,  and  it  was  ar- 
ranged that  they  should  have  seven  debates — an 
hour's  opening,  followed  by  a  ninety-minute  speech, 
the  first  speaker  to  have  a  half  hour  to  reply.  Doug- 
las's friends  called  him  the  "little  giant."  Physically 
and  intellectually  Lincoln  was  the  big  giant.  The 
Democrats,  from  the  senator  down,  were  confident. 
They  boasted  that  "the  little  giant  would  use  up 
Old  Abe  and  utterly  demolish  him."  So  noisy  and 
demonstrative  were  they,  so  absolutely  sure  of  sue- 


THE    GROWTH    OF    A    PARTY      177 

cess,  that  some  of  the  Republicans  became  alarmed. 
One  of  Lincoln's  friends  spoke  to  him  of  their 
anxiety. 

"Sit  down,"  was  his  reply,  "let  me  tell  you  a  story. 
You  and  I,  as  we  have  traveled  the  circuit  together 
attending  court,  have  often  seen  two  men  about  to 
fight.  One  of  them,  the  big  or  the  little  giant,  as 
the  case  may  be,  is  noisy  and  boastful.  He  jumps 
high  in  the  air,  strikes  his  feet  together,  smites  his 
fists,  brags  about  what  he  is  going  to  do,  and  tries 
hard  to  skeer  the  other  man,  who  says  not  a  word. 
His  arms  hang  down,  his  fists  are  clenched,  his 
teeth  set,  his  head  settled  firmly  on  his  shoulders, 
he  saves  his  breath  and  strength  for  the  struggle. 
This  man  will  whip,  just  as  sure  as  the  fight  comes 
off.  Good-by,  and  remember  what  I  say."10 

The  friends  of  Douglas  managed  his  campaign 
well.  A  special  train,  decorated  with  flags  and  ban- 
ners, carried  him  from  city  to  city  like  a  conquering 
hero.  Its  arrival  was  announced  with  the  booming 
of  cannon,  bands  playing,  ladies  waving  their  hand- 
kerchiefs, and  air-splitting  cheers.  At  night  there 
were  fireworks.  Lincoln  traveled  alone,  with  no 
trumpeter  to  herald  his  coming. 

And  now  blazed  forth  in  full  splendor  the  most 
remarkable  canvass  ever  made  in  Illinois.  The  very 
prairies  seemed  alive  with  political  discussions.  The 
people  talked  of  little  else.  The  railroads  did  an 


178  ILLINOIS 

enormous  business,  for  excursions  were  the  order 
of  the  day.  From  five  to  twenty  thousand  people 
heard  each  of  the  debates,  held  out-of-doors  because 
no  halls  were  large  enough  to  accommodate  the  au- 
diences. Men  went  in  wagons,  with  supplies  of 
food,  and  camped  out  in  the  groves  at  night.  They 
were  aglow  with  the  fire  of  the  two  leaders,  as  up 
and  down  the  state,  through  its  length  and  breadth, 
raged  the  great  political  battle  of  these  Illinois 
giants. 

Far  beyond  the  mere  personal  success  of  one  can- 
didate or  the  other,  the  debates  arrested  public  at- 
tention in  every  part  of  the  Union.  Many  leading 
newspapers  in  St.  Louis,  Cincinnati  and  New  York 
had  their  own  correspondents  on  the  ground.  The 
speeches  were  taken  down,  printed,  and  scattered 
broadcast.  They  were  so  widely  read  that  the  whole 
nation  heard  the  debates  and  paused  to  watch  this 
contest  for  an  Illinois  senatorship.11 

Douglas  was  a  popular  speaker,  able  to  manage 
a  mixed  audience,  to  bridge  over  a  hard  place  in  an 
argument,  to  make  the  most  of  a  weak  point  in  his 
opponent's  armor.  But  Lincoln  was  a  born  logician 
and  could  demonstrate  a  public  question  with  mathe- 
matical clearness  and  certainty.  His  chief  advan- 
tage was  the  sincerity  of  his  belief,  the  earnestness 
and  fearlessness  with  which  he  spoke  his  conviction : 


THE    GROWTH    OF   A    PARTY      179 

free  labor  is  preferable  to  slave  labor,  and  slavery 
is  inherently  wrong. 

Politically  and  intellectually  different,  their  phys- 
ical contrast  was  no  less  striking.  Lincoln,  tall, 
lank,  lean ;  Douglas,  short,  round,  robust.  The  voice 
of  Douglas,  sonorous  and  full;  Lincoln's  sharp  and 
thin,  though  of  large  compass.  Lincoln  with  an 
inexhaustible  store  of  wit  and  humor,  and  apt  anec- 
dotes to  illustrate  his  points ;  Douglas  with  sparkling 
repartee  which  helped  him  to  make  happy  turns  of 
thought  against  his  rival.  Lincoln,  with  unpolished 
strength,  closely  reasoning,  at  times  highly  eloquent, 
using  simple,  homely,  accurate  words ;  Douglas  bold, 
decided,  magnetic,  plausible.  Douglas  carried  away 
the  more  popular  applause ;  Lincoln  made  a  deeper, 
more  lasting  impression. 

"Somehow,"  said  a  man  who  heard  the  debates, 
"while  Douglas  was  greeted  with  constant  cheers, 
when  Lincoln  closed  the  people  seemed  serious  and 
thoughtful,  and  could  be  heard  all  through  the 
crowd  gravely  and  anxiously  discussing  the  subjects 
on  which  he  had  been  speaking."12 

"Why  don't  you  tell  funny  stories  and  make  the 
people  laugh  and  cheer  you?"  a  friend  asked  Lin- 
coln. 

"The  occasion  is  too  serious,  and  the  issue  too 
grave.  I  do  not  seek  applause,  or  to  amuse  the 
people,  but  to  convince  them." 


180  ILLINOIS 

Lincoln  was  frank  and  fair  and  courteous,  an- 
swering every  question,  always  good  humored; 
Douglas  was  arrogant,  at  times  evasive,  when  hard 
pressed  irritable,  once  almost  brutal.  Douglas  had 
the  advantage  of  education  and  fifteen  years'  expe- 
rience in  Congress.  To  offset  this  Lincoln  had  two 
things  in  his  favor :  he  had  a  more  familiar  knowl- 
edge of  the  slavery  question  than  any  other  states- 
man of  the  day;  and  he  was  on  the  right  side,  the 
side  of  liberty,  toward  which  the  tide  of  popular 
feeling  was  setting,  with  tremendous  force.  Con- 
scious of  the  greatness  of  his  cause,  he  spoke  with 
an  energy,  ability  and  power  which  rapidly  gave  him 
a  national  reputation. 

There  was  but  one  real  issue  between  them — the 
question  of  slavery :  the  repeal  of  the  Missouri  Com- 
promise, the  theory  of  squatter  sovereignty,  the  duty 
of  Congress  to  prohibit  slavery  in  future  states. 

Said  Douglas : 

"Lincoln  says  that  he  looks  forward  to  a  time 
when  slavery  shall  be  abolished  everywhere.  I  look 
forward  to  a  time  when  each  state  shall  be  allowed 
to  do  as  it  pleases.  If  it  chooses  to  keep  slavery 
forever,  it  is  not  my  business,  but  its  own;  if  it 
chooses  to  abolish  slavery,  it  is  its  own  business — 
not  mine.  I  care  more  for  the  great  principle  of 
self-government,  the  right  of  the  people  to  rule, 
than  I  do  for  all  the  negroes  in  Christendom." 


THE    GROWTH    OF    A    PARTY      181 
Said  Lincoln : 

"Douglas  contends  that  whatever  community 
wants  slaves  has  a  right  to  have  them.  So  they 
have  if  it  is  not  a  wrong.  But  if  it  is  a  wrong, 
he  can  not  say  that  people  have  a  right  to  do  wrong. 
He  says  that,  upon  the  score  of  equality,  slaves 
should  be  allowed  to  go  in  a  new  territory  like  other 
property.  This  is  strictly  logical  if  there  is  no  dif- 
ference between  it  and  other  property.  .  .  .  But 
if  you  insist  that  one  is  wrong  and  the  other  right, 
there  is  no  use  to  institute  a  comparison  between 
right  and  wrong.  .  .  . 

"That  is  the  real  issue.  That  is  the  issue  that 
will  continue  in  this  country  when  these  poor 
tongues  of  Judge  Douglas  and  myself  shall  be  silent. 
It  is  the  eternal  struggle  between  these  two  princi- 
ples— right  and  wrong — throughout  the  world."13 

The  wisdom  of  putting  one  question  was  dis- 
cussed by  Lincoln  with  his  friends.  They  advised 
against  it.  They  insisted  that  an  answer  from 
Douglas  would  help  his  fortunes  in  Illinois,  with- 
out hurting  him  in  the  south.  They  urged  him  not 
to  ask  the  question,  saying,  "If  you  do,  you  can 
never  be  senator." 

But  Lincoln,  persisting  in  his  determination  to 
force  an  answer,  replied :  "Gentlemen,  I  am  killing 
larger  game;  if  Douglas  answers,  he  can  never  be 
president,  and  the  coming  battle  of  1860  is  worth 
a  hundred  of  this." 


182  ILLINOIS 

So  the  question  was  put :  How  can  you  reconcile 
the  Dred  Scott  decision  with  your  popular  sover- 
eignty theory?  You  are  holding  that  a  thing  may 
lawfully  be  driven  away  from  a  place  where  it  has 
a  lawful  right  to  go!  At  once  the  southern  states 
charged  that  Douglas  was  two-faced  on  this  point, 
contending  for  the  extension  of  slavery  under  the 
decision,  and  for  its  exclusion  under  the  Kansas- 
Nebraska  bill.14 

The  debates  ended,  a  drawn  battle.  The  victory 
was  claimed  by  Lincoln  and  by  Douglas.  The  im- 
mediate result  was  the  election  of  Republican  state 
officers  and  a  Democratic  legislature,  so  that  Doug- 
las became  senator.  But  this  campaign  simply  fore- 
shadowed the  presidential  election.  That  was 
fought  out  on  the  same  principles.  As  Lincoln 
prophesied,  Douglas  had  made  it  impossible  for  the 
south  to  support  him;  he  did  indeed  win  the  nom- 
ination of  the  northern  Democrats,  but  this  split  in 
the  party  assured  the  election  of  a  Republican  pres- 
ident. 

For  during  these  two  years,  tension  of  feel- 
ing had  not  relaxed,  and  the  bitterness  was  in- 
creased. Both  north  and  south,  for  or  against 
slavery,  were  unyielding  and  determined.  Lincoln, 
defeated  for  the  senate,  was  now  brought  to  the 
front  as  candidate  for  the  much  higher  office  of 
president.  The  notoriety  of  his  contest  with  Doug- 


THE    GROWTH    OF   A    PARTY      183 

las,  the  masterly  presentation  of  his  side,  his  vig- 
orous logic,  his  love  of  liberty,  had  made  him 
friends  all  through  the  north.  Introduced  to  the 
east  by  his  famous  speech  at  Cooper  Union,  he  was 
by  no  means  an  unknown  candidate.15 

The  Republicans  were  to  meet  at  Chicago  in  na- 
tional convention.  Asked  if  he  should  be  present, 
Lincoln  replied:  "Well,  I  am  unable  to  decide 
whether  I  am  enough  of  a  candidate  to  stay  away, 
or  too  much  of  one  to  go."  He  determined,  how- 
ever, to  remain  in  Springfield,  and  a  special  wire 
from  the  "Wigwam"  kept  him  in  touch  with  every 
happening.  While  waiting  for  telegrams  Lincoln 
played  ball  with  some  friends.  And  when  a  mes- 
sage came  that  he  had  been  nominated  on  the  third 
ballot,  he  read  it  through  to  himself,  then  aloud, 
adding:  "There's  a  little  woman  down  on  Eighth 
Street  that  would  like  to  hear  this.  I'll  go  down  and 
tell  her."  Without  waiting  for  the  congratulations 
of  his  friends  he  took  the  news  to  Mrs.  Lincoln. 

In  the  exciting  campaign  that  followed  Lincoln 
took  no  active  part.  But  Douglas,  ever  ready  for 
a  fight,  spoke  in  every  slave  state — almost  the  first 
time  in  our  history  that  a  candidate  for  the  presi- 
dency went  directly  before  the  people.  But  Douglas 
knew  that  his  one  chance  of  success  was  in  the  union 
of  his  party.  In  ten  southern  states  Lincoln  received 
no  vote  at  all.  But  he  carried  every  free  state  but 


184  ILLINOIS 

one;  and  in  the  electoral  college  he  had  a  hundred 
and  eighty  votes,  to  seventy-two  and  twelve  for  the 
two  Democratic  candidates. 

As  soon  as  the  result  of  the  election  was  known 
the  south  realized  that  her  long  supremacy  in  na- 
tional affairs  was  at  an  end.  She  must  submit  to 
Republican  rule  or  put  in  practise  her  often  re- 
peated threats  to  dissolve  the  Union.  During  the 
four  months  between  Lincoln's  election  and  inaugu- 
ration, while  Buchanan  did  nothing,  the  southern 
states  seceded  and  organized  a  separate  government 
with  slavery  as  its  cornerstone.  Douglas,  in  his 
last  speech  in  Congress,  made  a  powerful  argument 
against  this  right  of  secession,  and  the  whole  Illinois 
delegation  united  in  condemning  it.16 

In  February,  1861,  Lincoln  left  his  old  home  at 
Springfield  for* the  journey  to  Washington.  A  large 
number  of  his  friends  assembled  at  the  station  to 
bid  him  God-speed.  Standing  on  the  platform  of 
the  train  in  the  falling  snow,  Lincoln  said : 

"My  friends,  no  one,  not  in  my  position,  can 
appreciate  the  sadness  I  feel  at  this  parting.  To 
this  people  I  owe  all  that  I  am.  Here  I  have  lived 
more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century.  ...  I  know 
not  how  soon  I  will  see  you  again.  A  duty  devolves 
upon  me  which  is  perhaps  greater  than  that  which 
has  rested  upon  any  other  man  since  the  day  of 
Washington.  He  would  never  have  succeeded  ex- 


THE    GROWTH    OF    A    PARTY       185 

cept  for  the  aid  of  Divine  Providence,  on  which  he 
at  all  times  relied.  I  feel  that  I  can  not  succeed 
without  the  same  divine  aid  which  sustained  him. 
On  the  same  Almighty  Being  I  place  my  reliance 
for  support,  and  I  hope  you,  my  friends,  will  pray 
that  I  may  receive  that  divine  assistance,  without 
which  I  can  not  succeed,  but  with  which  success  is 
certain.  Again  I  bid  you  an  affectionate  farewell." 

And  with  him,  as  he  started  forth  on  his  great 
mission,  went  the  hearts  and  the  prayers  of  the  peo- 
ple of  Illinois. 

Stopping  in  many  towns  on  his  way  east,  Lincoln 
spoke  to  the  loyal  citizens  who  greeted  him,  ex- 
pressing his  devotion  to  the  Union  and  his  desire 
to  maintain  it  without  resort  to  arms.  Warned  of 
many  plots  against  his  life,  he  made  the  last  part 
of  the  journey  in  secret. 

On  the  fourth  of  March,  on  the  steps  of  the  cap- 
itol  at  Washington,  Abraham  Lincoln  was  inaugu- 
rated president,  sworn  in  by  a  chief  justice  known 
in  history  for  his  Dred  Scott  decision,  while  Stephen 
A.  Douglas  held  his  hat.  With  a  clear  and  distinct 
voice  he  read  his  address,  an  earnest  plea  for  peace, 
on  the  verge  of  war,  closing  with  these  beautiful 
words : 

"In  your  hands,  my  dissatisfied  fellow  country- 
men, and  not  in  mine,  is  the  momentous  issue  of  civil 
war.  .  .  .  We  are  not  enemies,  but  friends. 


186  ILLINOIS 

We  must  not  be  enemies.  Though  passion  may  have 
strained,  it  must  not  break  our  bonds  of  affection. 
The  mystic  cords  of  memory,  stretching  from  every 
battlefield  and  patriot  grave  to  every  living  heart 
and  hearth-stone  all  over  this  broad  land,  will  yet 
swell  the  chorus  of  the  Union,  when  again  touched, 
as  surely  they  will  be,  by  the  better  angels  of  our 
nature." 


XXIII 

RALLY  ROUND  THE  FLAG! 

THE  inauguration  of  Lincoln,  whom  Illinois 
gave  to  the  nation,  was  the  signal  for  a  life- 
and-death  struggle,  testing  whether  or  no  the  Union 
could  endure.  The  outcome  depended  wholly  on  the 
loyalty  of  the  states.  And  as  always,  Illinois  came 
proudly  to  the  front,  and  did  her  share  and  more. 
After  the  attack  on  Fort  Sumter,  Lincoln  called 
for  volunteers.  Illinois's  quota  was  six  regiments. 
In  ten  days,  ten  thousand  men  had  offered  their  serv- 
ice. Nearly  a  million  dollars  was  tendered  to  Gov- 
ernor Yates,  by  private  citizens,  as  in  the  sudden 
emergency  the  state  had  no  funds  available  to  organ- 
ize and  equip  her  troops.  The  prairies  blazed  with 
excitement.1  Every  town  and  village  held  meetings. 
The  spirit  of  '76  was  kindled  afresh.  Ministers  of 
all  denominations  preached  against  secession,  join- 
ing Christianity  and  freedom  and  the  maintaining  of 
the  Union,  just  as  Peck  and  his  associates  a  genera- 
tion before  had  joined  religion  with  the  anti-slavery 
movement. 

All  through  the  state,  democratic  newspapers  con- 

187 


188  ILLINOIS 

demned  the  south  and  sustained  the  president. 
Among  the  first  to  call  on  Lincoln  was  Stephen  A. 
Douglas,  tendering  his  cordial  sympathy  and  sup- 
port. Reaching  Springfield  during  the  called  session 
of  the  legislature,  the  "little  giant"  was  invited  to 
address  the  members.  With  all  his  influence  and 
eloquence,  he  now  stood  loyally  by  his  former  oppo- 
nent, saying  that  the  first  duty  of  every  citizen  was 
obedience  to  the  constitution  and  the  laws,  that  there 
could  be  now  only  two  parties — not  Republican  or 
Democrat,  but  patriot  or  traitor. 

"It  is  a  duty  we  owe  to  ourselves,  and  our  chil- 
dren, and  our  God,"  he  said  in  closing,  "to  protect 
this  government  and  the  flag  from  every  assailant, 
be  he  who  he  may." 

This  speech  sent  thousands  of  northern  Demo- 
crats into  the  army,  and  the  sudden  death  of  Doug- 
las in  June  was  a  greater  loss  to  the  Union  cause 
than  a  defeat  in  battle.2 

In  honor  of  the  six  regiments  that  had  served  in 
the  Mexican  War,  the  new  troops  of  Illinois  were 
numbered  from  seven  to  twelve,  for  no  more  than 
the  quota  could  be  accepted.  This  first  call  was  but 
a  beginning,  and  by  the  end  of  the  war  the  infantry 
regiments  had  reached  one  hundred  and  fifty-six, 
with  seventeen  of  cavalry,  and  artillery  besides. 

The   legislature,    anticipating   that   more   troops 


RALLY    ROUND    THE    FLAG!        189 

would  be  needed,  authorized  ten  additional  regi- 
ments; and  when  double  the  number  of  men  volun- 
teered, they  were  organized  at  once  and  put  in  train- 
ing. The  second  call,  however,  gave  Illinois  another 
quota  of  only  six  regiments.  A  special  messenger 
was  sent  to  Washington,  to  urge  the  War  Depart- 
ment to  accept  a  larger  force,  and  his  errand  was 
successful.  Hundreds  of  Illinoisans,  denied  the 
privilege  of  serving  in  their  own  state,  enlisted  in 
Missouri,  and  in  two  cases  their  numbers  made  up 
a  majority  of  the  regiment,  and  the  name  was  later 
changed  to  Illinois. 

After  the  battle  of  Bull  Run,  Lincoln  asked  for 
still  another  army  of  half  a  million.  The  following 
day,  Yates  offered  him  sixteen  regiments,  most  of 
them  "now  ready  to  rendezvoust"  and  added,  "Illi- 
nois demands  the  right  to  do  her  full  share  in  the 
work  of  preserving  our  glorious  Union  from  the  as- 
saults of  high-handed  rebellion."  July  of  1862  saw 
another  army  called  for,  and  still  another  in  August, 
each  state  given  a  quota  and  ordered  to  draft  if  the 
number  of  volunteers  was  too  small. 

This  new  levy  took  a  different  class  of  citizens — 
farmers  from  the  midst  of  harvest,  mechanics  and 
merchants,  lawyers  and  doctors  and  ministers,  the 
influential  and  prosperous  men  of  each  community. 
The  people  were  aroused  as  never  before.  Meetings 
were  held  throughout  the  state,  and  in  eleven  days 


190  ILLINOIS 

Illinois  had  made  up  the  required  number — a  rally- 
ing to  the  flag  unexampled  in  history.3 

When  their  time  expired,  forty-four  of  her  regi- 
ments re-enlisted  as  veterans,  and  not  until  the  last 
call  for  volunteers  was  made,  at  the  end  of  1864, 
did  the  state  resort  to  compulsory  service,  and  then 
only  three  thousand  men  were  drafted,  of  the  two 
hundred  fifty-six  thousand  Illinois  gave  to  save  the 
Union.  She  sent  ten  thousand  in  excess  of  the  va- 
rious quotas,  nearly  a  tenth  of  the  whole  army.4 
Only  one  state  in  the  Union  gave  a  greater  propor- 
tion of  her  population,  and  that  was  Kansas,  a  new 
state  with  an  unusually  large  percentage  of  men  of 
military  age. 

The  Illinois  regiments  were  sent  to  the  front  in 
the  south  and  southwest.  At  Donelson,  the  first  sig- 
nal success  of  the  war;  Pea  Ridge,  hotly  contested; 
the  sanguinary  and  stubborn  conflict  on  Sunday 
morning,  near  the  Shiloh  meeting-house;  Corinth, 
where,  though  Oglesby  was  wounded,  his  men  with- 
stood a  bayonet  charge  till  the  enemy  fled;  Stone 
River,  where  five  color  bearers  laid  down  their  lives 
to  save  a  regimental  standard;  in  the  monotonous 
routine  in  the  siege  of  Vicksburg,  till  the  stars  and 
stripes  floated  over  the  city,  on  the  fourth  of  July; 
Chickamauga,  where  Palmer  anticipated  Grant's 
orders  and  won  his  hearty  approval ;  in  the  amazing 
charge  up  Missionary  Ridge ;  at  Atlanta,  where  the 


RALLY    ROUND    THE    FLAG!        191 

popular  Logan,  seizing  the  mantle  of  the  fallen  Mc- 
Pherson,  galloped  hatless  along  the  front  and  turned 
apparent  defeat  into  a  brilliant  victory;  and  finally 
the  march  across  Georgia  to  the  sea — list  the  en- 
gagements in  the  campaigns  near  the  Mississippi, 
and  you  list  the  battle-fields  where  Illinois  soldiers 
rallied  round  the  flag.  Take  her  men  out  of  these 
battles,  and  the  story  of  the  war  would  have  to  be 
rewritten. 

The  Union  army  was  made  up  of  enlistments 
through  the  agency  of  the  loyal  states.  The  respon- 
sibility for  this  fell  on  the  governor  and  adjutant- 
general;  and  here  Yates  and  Fuller  did  splendid 
service.  The  year  1861  found  the  north  unprepared. 
Securing  uniforms  and  tents  and  food  and  medical 
supplies  for  thousands  of  soldiers,  on  short  notice, 
involved  no  small  task.  Those  who  worked  at  home 
deserve  their  share  of  praise,  for  making  possible 
the  efficiency  of  the  soldiers  in  the  field. 

Two  rendezvous  were  established  in  Illinois — 
Camp  Douglas,  at  Chicago,  and  Camp  Butler,  near 
Springfield;  and  here  the  boys  in  blue  were  trained 
for  military  duties.  After  the  victory  at  Fort  Don- 
elson,  Confederate  prisoners  were  sent  here,  and 
during  the  war  thirty  thousand  Johnny  Rebs  were 
held  in  these  two  camps  and  at  Rock  Island  and 
Alton. 

At   the   beginning   of   the   conflict,    Illinois   had 


192  ILLINOIS 

plenty  of  men,  but  no  muskets.  A  messenger  sent 
to  Washington  returned,  not  with  the  coveted  arms, 
but  with  an  order  on  the  arsenal  at  St.  Louis.  But 
it  was  known  that  traitors  were  watching,  and  a  mob 
was  ready  to  seize  the  arms  if  any  attempt  was  made 
to  remove  them.  Captain  Stokes  volunteered  to 
bring  them  up  to  Springfield.  He  found  batteries 
erected  near  the  arsenal  and  on  the  levee.  Hundreds 
of  spies  were  around  the  building,  and  its  com- 
mander questioned  if  it  was  possible  to  take  the  mus- 
kets, though  he  gave  permission  to  make  the  at- 
tempt. 

Stokes  telegraphed  to  Alton  to  have  a  steamer 
come  down  the  river  and  land  opposite  the  arsenal  at 
midnight.  To  divert  attention  he  openly  put  five 
hundred  unserviceable  muskets  in  another  boat.  The 
crowd  soon  detected  this,  and  with  shouts  and  ex- 
citement left  the  arsenal.  Stokes  and  his  men  loaded 
the  steamer,  being  given  more  arms  than  their  order 
called  for. 

"Which  way?"  asked  the  captain  of  the  boat. 

"Straight  in  the  regular  channel  for  Alton." 

"What  if  we  are  attacked?" 

"We'll  fight." 

"But — what  if  we're  overpowered?" 

"Run  your  boat  to  the  deepest  part  of  the  river 
and  sink  her." 

"Aye,  aye,  sir!",  and  past  the  rebel  battery  went 


RALLY    ROUND   THE    FLAG!       193 

the  steamer  with  its  precious  burden,  reaching  Alton 
at  five  o'clock  in  the  morning. 

Stokes  ran  to  the  market  and  rang  the  fire  bell. 
In  all  sorts  of  dress  the  citizens  came  flocking  down 
to  the  river.  The  captain  told  his  story  and  pointed 
to  the  freight  cars.  Men,  women  and  children 
boarded  the  boat,  seized  the  heavy  boxes,  and  tugged 
and  pulled  with  might  and  main.  In  two  hours  the 
muskets  were  all  aboard  and  the  train  started  to 
Springfield  amid  rousing  cheers.  A  day  later,  two 
thousand  southerners  arrived  to  attack  the  arsenal, 
but  by  that  time  these  arms  were  equipping  the 
troops  of  Illinois.5 

The  governor's  rooms  were  crowded,  in  the  first 
days  of  the  war,  with  men  eager  to  give  their  serv- 
ices, insisting  on  commissions,  offering  funds.  In 
the  crowd  was  a  quiet  man  from  Galena,  who  had 
been  a  captain  in  the  regular  army.  Like  many 
others,  he,  too,  offered  his  service,  only  to  learn  that 
every  place  was  filled.  A  major  on  the  governor's 
staff  said  he  believed  they  were  short  of  men  in  the 
adjutant-general's  office.  The  modest  man  from 
Galena  was  given  a  desk  there,  and  put  to  work 
sorting  and  filing  papers. 

A  few  days  later,  Yates  told  his  major  that  he 
must  have  a  regular  army  officer  to  perfect  the  or- 
ganization of  the  new  camps.  There  had  come 
quietly  into  the  room  the  new  clerk.  Reminding  the 


194  ILLINOIS 

governor  of  his  army  training  and  experience,  he 
suggested  that  he  could  be  more  useful  in  this  service 
than  at  a  desk. 

"Why,  Captain,  you  are  just  the  man  we  want!" 
exclaimed  Yates.6 

And  that  very  day  he  was  made  commandant  in 
the  training  camp.  Seven  weeks  later,  he  was  colo- 
nel of  a*n  Illinois  regiment.  In  a  few  months,  he 
was  brigadier-general.  Donelson  gave  him  a  major- 
generalship  and  his  nickname  of  "Unconditional 
Surrender."  He  led  his  men  from  victory  to  vic- 
tory, even  though  it  took  all  summer,  till  the  "father 
of  waters"  went  unvexed  to  the  sea.  And  in  the 
spring  of  1864  Lincoln  borrowed  him  for  the  east- 
ern army,  to  carry  the  flag  to  Richmond.  When  Lee 
surrendered  to  the  quiet  man  from  Galena  the  Union 
was  saved. 

But  soldiers  were  not  the  only  contribution  Illi- 
nois made.  Stay-at-homes  are  always  needed,  to 
carry  on  trade  and  manufacturing,  to  administer 
civil  offices,  to  make  possible  the  work  of  the  sol- 
diers. The  backbone  of  the  army  was  the  unfalter- 
ing support  of  the  loyal  people  at  home,  who  helped 
raise  and  maintain  it,  who  followed  it  with  aid  and 
sympathy. 

Perhaps  the  brightest  page  in  the  story  is  the  con- 
tribution of  Illinois  women.  They  sent  their  men  to 
the  front.  They  formed  relief  societies,  to  supply 


RALLY    ROUND    THE    FLAG!        195 

food,  clothing,  medicine,  hospital  delicacies.  And 
as  the  war  continued  and  the  needs  increased,  their 
efforts  increased  also  and  were  better  organized.7 
Not  as  a  substitute  for  the  work  of  national  and 
state  governments,  but  as  a  supplement,  these  sol- 
diers' aid  societies  looked  after  the  families  of  the 
men  in  blue ;  they  established  soldiers'  homes,  where 
convalescents  invalided  north  were  provided  with 
board  and  lodging.  Fairs  were  held  to  raise  money. 

An  army  so  vast  and  so  hurriedly  collected  could 
not  but  have  inadequate  facilities  for  the  care  of  the 
sick  and  wounded.  After  the  victory  at  Donelson, 
the  "war  governor,"  with  other  state  officers,  went 
down  to  the  battle-field,  to  look  after  the  wounded 
Illinoisans.  Immediately  after  this  came  the  news 
from  Shiloh,  with  its  appalling  list  of  wounded  sol- 
diers. Before  twenty-four  hours  had  passed,  Yates 
had  chartered  a  steamboat  and  was  on  his  way,  with 
doctors  and  nurses  and  medical  supplies.  The  hastily 
improvised  army  hospitals  were  not  sufficient  to  pro- 
vide for  the  most  serious  cases  even.  Hundreds 
of  men  were  lying  where  they  had  fallen,  hundreds 
more  were  dying  from  disease  and  exposure. 

No  wonder  Yates  received  the  name  of  "the  sol- 
diers' friend."  His  coming  was  most  opportune. 
In  a  few  hours  the  boat  had  started  north,  with  three 
hundred  of  the  most  severely  wounded.  State  hos- 
pitals were  established  at  Quincy  and  Peoria  and 


196  ILLINOIS 

Springfield.  Two  more  trips  this  steamer  made, 
bringing  over  a  thousand  men  back  to  homes  and 
friends. 

"We  must  not  let  our  brave  boys  think  they  are 
forgotten,"  the  governor  used  to  say,  "but  follow 
them  in  their  many  marches,  with  such  things  as 
they  need  for  their  comfort  which  the  government 
can  not  supply,  .  .  .  wherever  they  go  and  at 
whatever  cost." 

But  you  must  not  think  that  the  long  war,  with  all 
the  delays  and  defeats  of  the  first  years,  had  no  crit- 
ics in  Illinois.  She  was,  indeed,  a  strong  Union 
state;  but  there  were  "copperheads"  not  a  few — men 
who  believed  in  the  Union  but  not  in  Lincoln's  meth- 
ods ;  who  opposed  the  administration  at  every  point ; 
who  were  bitter  at  the  issuing  of  the  Emancipation 
Proclamation;  who  welcomed  every  opportunity  to 
talk  peace,  peace,  even  with  slavery;  who  suggested 
that  if  the  south  was  to  be  a  separate  country,  the 
northwest  should  organize  its  own  government, 
without  New  England. 

Disloyal  at  heart,  some  of  them  formed  a  secret 
society  called  the  "Sons  of  Liberty,"8  to  discourage 
enlisting,  resist  the  draft,  and  cooperate  with  the 
rebels.  They  planned  to  release  the  Confederate 
prisoners  at  Chicago  and  Rock  Island,  but  the  plot 
was  discovered  in  time  and  failed  entirely. 


RALLY    ROUND    THE    FLAG!        197 

The  opponents  of  the  administration  were  strong 
enough,  during  the  progress  of  the  rebellion,  to  elect 
a  legislature  almost  wholly  Democratic,  embarrass- 
ing the  government  by  the  resolutions  passed  against 
Lincoln  and  the  war,  and  in  favor  of  peace.  These 
resolutions  were  promptly  repudiated  by  both  citi- 
zens and  soldiers,  and  the  legislature  prorogued  by 
Yates.9 

Two  other  men  in  Illinois  made  notable  contribu- 
tion to  the  Union  cause.  The  truth  of  the  old  say- 
ing, "Let  me  make  the  ballads  of  a  nation,  and  I  care 
not  who  makes  its  laws,"  was  never  more  apparent 
than  during  the  war.  After  the  battle  of  Stone 
River,  a  Chicago  glee  club  went  down  to  visit  the 
Illinois  regiments  in  camp,  with  a  new  song  by 
George  F.  Root,  who  lived  in  that  city.  It  rang 
through  camp  like  wildfire,  inspiring  the  discour- 
aged men  with  fresh  courage  and  hope  and  en- 
thusiasm, its  effect  electric: 

"The  Union  forever,  hurrah !  boys,  hurrah ! 
Down  with  the  traitor,  up  with  the  stars ; 
While  we  rally  round  the  flag,  boys,  rally  once 

again, 
Shouting  the  battle-cry  of  freedom  !"10 

Root  was  also  the  author  of  Just  Before  the  Bat- 
tle, Mother,  and  Tramp,  Tramp,  Tramp,  the  Boys 
Are  Marching;  while  another  Chicagoan  wrote 


198  ILLINOIS 

Marching  Through  Georgia.  The  songs  of  Illinois 
were  heard  at  every  Union  campfire.  They  nerved 
the  troops  at  the  front,  and  stirred  the  people  at 
home.  At  meetings  to  raise  funds  or  recruits,  these 
songs,  simple  in  melody,  powerful  in  their  appeal, 
were  sung  with  a  will  by  the  entire  audience. 
After  Lee's  surrender  a  Confederate  soldier  said : 

"I  shall  never  forget  the  first  time  I  heard  Rally 
Round  the  Flag.  It  was  a  nasty  night  during  the 
seven-days'  fight,  when  just  before  taps  some  fellow 
on  the  other  side  struck  up  that  song  and  others 
joined  in  the  chorus.  Tom  sung  out,  'Good  heavens, 
Cap,  what  are  those  fellows  made  of?  Here  we've 
licked  them  seven  days  running,  and  now,  on  the 
eve  of  the  seventh,  they're  singing  Rally  Round  the 
Flag!'  I  tell  you  that  song  sounded  to  me  like  the 
knell  of  doom,  and  my  heart  went  down  into  my 
boots,  and  it's  been  an  uphill  fight  with  me  ever 
since  that  night." 

And  a  southern  officer,  hearing  these  Illinois 
songs  for  the  first  time,  remarked,  "Gentlemen,  if 
we'd  had  your  songs,  we'd  have  licked  you  out  of 
your  boots !" 

And  to-day  these  war  melodies  are  sung,  with  a 
spirit  of  thanksgiving  that  we  are  one  people,  with 
loyal  devotion  to  the  Union. 


XXIV 

A  SAD  HOME-COMING 

GRANT'S  victories  in  Virginia  and  the  fall  of 
Richmond  were  welcomed  throughout  the 
north  as  the  last  steps  in  the  triumph  of  freedom. 
Bells  in  city  churches  and  in  country  meeting-houses 
pealed  forth  the  news,  to  a  people  really  free,  of  a 
Union  forever  indissoluble.  Bonfires  were  lighted, 
and  meetings  of  rejoicing  held. 

But  the  exultant  gladness  of  Easter  was  suddenly 
changed  to  a  bitter  grief.  On  the  morning  of  the 
fifteenth  of  April,  news  came  that  the  president  had 
been  assassinated  in  Washington.  The  best  years 
of  his  manhood,  the  highest  powers  of  his  'mind, 
even  the  lifeblood  of  his  great  heart,  Lincoln  gave 
unselfishly,  for  the  Union  and  the  cause  of  human 
freedom. 

A  regiment  of  colored  soldiers  formed  the  escort 
of  his  funeral  procession  from  the  White  House  to 
the  capitol,  where  the  body  lay  in  state.  There  was 
some  talk  of  burying  the  president  in  Washington, 
in  a  vault  under  the  dome  of  the  capitol  which  had 

199 


200  ILLINOIS 

been  prepared  for  the  body  of  the  first  president,  but 
never  used.  But  Illinois  claimed  his  last  resting 
place.1 

He  who  had  left  Springfield  asking  for  the  pray- 
ers of  his  friends  at  home  was  now  to  return  amid  the 
tears  of  the  nation.  Army  and  navy  officers,  sen- 
ators and  representatives,  formed  his  guard  of 
honor.  The  route  taken  by  the  funeral  train  was  the 
same  Mr.  Lincoln  had  traveled  in  1861,  but  now  the 
people  were  all  in  mourning.  States  and  cities  and 
villages  paid  homage  to  his  greatness.  Hundreds 
gathered,  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  passing  train. 
Countless  throngs  filed  by,  where  the  body  lay  in 
state.  For  sixteen  hundred  miles  the  sad  pilgrimage 
continued. 

In  Springfield  a  burial  place  near  the  state  house 
was  suggested,  but  Mrs.  Lincoln  preferred  Oak 
Ridge  Cemetery,  because  it  was  more  retired.  And 
in  that  beautiful  spot  his  remains  were  placed.  The 
ceremonies  were  very  simple ;  a  hymn  and  prayer,  a 
brief  address  and  the  reading  of  his  second  inaugu- 
ral. All  the  world  laid  wreaths  upon  the  grave  of 
this  man  who  had  malice  for  none  and  charity  for 
all. 

Since  his  death  the  nations  of  the  earth  have 
joined  in  magnifying  his  fame.  Lincoln  is  to-day 
more  in  the  minds  and  hearts  of  the  world  than  any 
other  human  character.  In  May  of  1865  an  associa- 


A    SAD    HOME-COMING  201 

tion  was  formed,  with  Governor  Oglesby  as  its 
president,  to  erect  a  monument  to  his  memory.  Illi- 
nois gave  a  fourth  of  the  sum  needed;  and  contri- 
butions came  from  every  state,  from  sailors  and 
soldiers,  from  churches  and  societies,  from  many 
children.  The  monument  was  dedicated  in  1874, 
with  Grant  and  Sherman  among  the  speakers.2 

And  it  is  to-day  one  of  the  hallowed  spots  of 
America,  sought  by  "men  of  all  faiths  and  tongues 
and  races  and  backgrounds,  who  are  become  one  and 
indivisible  in  their  love  and  honor  for  the  memory 
of  Abraham  Lincoln."3  It  is  a  shrine  which  north 
and  east  and  south  and  west  visit,  to  rekindle  their 
patriotism  and  their  devotion  to  that  cause  for 
which  he  gave  the  last  full  measure  of  devotion. 


XXV 

THE  CITY  BY  THE  LAKE 

THE  story  of  Chicago  begins  long  ago  with  the 
Indian  tribes  who  hunted  there.  From  them 
came  its  name,  for  Checaqua  was  the  title  of  a  suc- 
cession of  chiefs,  like  the  Pharaohs  of  Egypt.  We 
know  that  Marquette  spent  a  winter  here,  that  La 
Salle  and  Tonty  passed  through  it  more  than  once, 
that  it  was  the  site  of  a  French  fort,  mentioned  in 
Wayne's  treaty  with  the  Indians. 

In  1796  a  West  Indian  negro,  Jean  Baptiste  Point 
au  Sable,  built  a  rude  cabin  at  the  mouth  of  the  Che- 
kajo  River,  so  that  the  red  men  used  to  say,  "The 
first  white  settler  was  a  negro!"  His  claim  was 
"jumped"  by  a  Frenchman,  who  sold  out  to  John 
Kinzie,  an  Indian  trader  and  agent  for  the  American 
Fur  Company.1  In  the  year  when  Fort  Dearborn 
was  built,  Kinzie  brought  his  family  out,  and  im- 
proved Baptiste's  cabin  into  "a  tasteful  dwelling." 
They  lived  across  from  the  fort,  and  at  the  time  of 
the  massacre  were  saved  by  some  friendly  Indians. 

Rebuilt  in  1816,  the  blockhouse  was  occupied  for 
some  thirty  years.  But  the  massacre  kept  settlers 

202 


THE   CITY   BY   THE   LAKE         203 

and  traders  away  from  Fort  Dearborn.  In  1827 
there  were  only  three  families  here,  all  living  in  log 
cabins.  The  future  city  was  due  to  Daniel  Pope 
Cook,  for  whom  Cook  County  was  named;  and  its 
foundation  was  the  grant  of  land  from  Congress  for 
the  building  of  the  canal.2  Long  before  it  was  com- 
pleted, in  fact  before  it  was  begun,  public  attention 
was  attracted  to  Chicago,  and  the  commercial  ad- 
vantages of  this  site,  as  the  terminus  of  the  canal, 
were  emphasized.  Geography  made  it  a  natural 
depot  for  the  receiving  and  forwarding  of  western 
products,  and  for  the  distributing  of  eastern  manu- 
factures to  the  entire  northwest.  Its  citizens,  seeing 
this  natural  advantage  and  foreseeing  its  future,  ac- 
complished the  rest  through  their  energy  and  enter- 
prise. 

But  in  comparison  with  the  story  of  other  Amer- 
ican cities,  Chicago's  is  wholly  recent.  Thanks  to 
Nathaniel  Pope,  the  site  was  secured  for  Illinois. 
First  platted  and  named  in  connection  with  the  sur- 
vey for  the  canal  route  in  1830,  the  town  covered 
three-eighths  of  a  square  mile.  The  following  year 
three  vessels  arrived  in  its  harbor.  When  incorpo- 
rated in  1837,  its  population  was  only  forty-one 
hundred. 

Winfield  Scott,  ordered  west  to  take  charge  of  the 
campaign  against  Black  Hawk,  was  delayed  in  Chi- 
cago by  an  outbreak  of  cholera  among  his  troops 


204  ILLINOIS 

and  so  took  no  part  in  the  war.  But  he  returned 
east  with  such  glowing  accounts  of  the  place  that 
general  attraction  was  drawn  to  it.  And  on  his  rec- 
ommendation Congress  appropriated  money  to  im- 
prove the  harbor.3 

Then  came  a  period  of  inflation,  when  Chicago 
was  the  Mecca  of  speculators.  Nothing  was  dis- 
cussed but  the  price  of  corner  lots.  Every  one  was 
rich,  on  paper.  Men  talked  in  millions  who  had  no 
cash  to  pay  their  board  bills.  A  hundred  new  citi- 
zens came  in  ten  days.  Half  a  million  dollars'  worth 
of  property  was  sold  in  six  months.  The  people 
multiplied  by  eight  in  a  year.  And  it  must  be  said 
for  these  promoters  that  everything  they  prophesied 
was  later  carried  out.  The  trouble  was,  they  wanted 
to  go  too  fast,  they  were  a  generation  ahead  of  their 
time. 

The  year  1837  and  its  panic  brought  stagnation.4 
The  one  thing  that  kept  Chicago  alive  was  the  canal 
project.  Even  though  all  work  stopped,  it  was 
never  allowed  to  die  out.  Real  estate  was,  to  be 
sure,  offered  at  a  twentieth  of  former  prices.  But 
Chicago  people  had  real  grit,  and  gradually  industry 
took  the  place  of  speculative  idling.  During  these 
lean  years,  two  of  the  city's  greatest  enterprises  be- 
gan— the  packing  business,  and  the  exporting  of 
grain,  which  began  in  a  small  venture  with  thirty- 
nine  bags  of  wheat. 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  Of  ILLINOIS 


THE   CITY   BY   THE   LAKE         205 

After  1842  came  a  steady  sure  growth,  with  only 
a  temporary  check  at  the  panic  of  '57.  During  this 
time  the  canal  was  finished,  the  Illinois  Central  com- 
pleted and  other  roads  to  east  and  west.  Not  the 
canal,  as  its  friends  anticipated,  but  the  dozen  roads 
centering  at  Chicago,  carried  its  products  and  made 
its  greatness.  Manufacturing  developed — locomo- 
tives and  cars,  brick,  carriages  and  wagons,  furni- 
ture, stoves,  agricultural  implements,  leather  goods, 
to  mention  only  a  few  of  the  many  things  made  in 
Chicago. 

The  Civil  War  gave  a  remarkable  stimulus  to  the 
city,  for  it  became  immediately  an  important  base 
of  supplies.5  Far  enough  from  the  front  to  be  abso- 
lutely safe,  closely  connected  by  rail  with  every  part 
of  the  country,  supplies  and  men  could  be  moved 
easily.  Large  amounts  of  corn  and  pork,  of  cloth- 
ing and  saddlery,  thousands  of  horses  and  wagons, 
were  sent  from  Chicago  to  the  Union  armies.  Dur- 
ing the  sixties,  her  population  more  than  kept  pace 
with  the  increase  in  the  nation.  Her  growth  and 
prosperity  were  without  precedent.  She  was  the 
pride  of  Illinois,  the  wonder  of  the  world. 

And  this  prosperity  continued  until  a  sudden 
check  came  in  the  autumn  of  1871.  One  Sunday 
night  in  October,  as  people  were  going  home  from 
church,  the  alarm  of  fire  was  sounded  by  the  court- 
house bell.6  A  poor  woman,  living  in  the  poorest 


206  ILLINOIS 

quarter  of  the  town,  had  gone  out  late  to  milk  her 
cow.  The  restless  cow  kicked  over  the  kerosene 
lamp,  the  hay  in  the  shed  caught  fire,  and  in  a  mo- 
ment the  flames  had  spread.  It  was  a  section  of  one- 
story  houses,  stables  and  sheds,  each  within  a  few 
feet  of  its  neighbor,  and  all  of  wood.  They  burned 
like  so  much  kindling.  There  had  been  no  rain  for 
weeks.  A  high  wind  was  blowing.  The  nearest 
alarm  box  was  several  blocks  away.  And  the  cow, 
and  Mrs.  O'Leary,  who  lived  in  a  little  frame  shanty 
without  even  a  street  number,  won  a  place  in  the  his- 
tory of  Chicago. 

The  firemen  had  been  hard  at  work  all  Saturday 
night  and  most  of  Sunday,  fighting  a  big  down-town 
fire.  But  they  responded  promptly  and  tried  to 
stay  the  progress  of  the  flames.  Days  later  the  ruins 
of  the  engine  were  found  in  the  street.  The  wind 
had  become  a  gale.  Directly  in  its  path  was  a  four- 
mile  line  of  wooden  buildings.  The  intense  heat 
made  it  impossible  for  the  department  to  work.  By 
midnight  the  fire  had  reached  the  densely  populated 
section.  Wider  streets  will  keep  it  from  spreading,- 
said  the  onlookers.  But  the  flames  jumped  across 
and  blazed  more  fiercely.  . 

Well,  the  burned  district  of  last  night  will  stop  it. 
But  no. 

At  any  rate,  the  river  will  limit  it.  But  with  a 
hop,  skip  and  jump,  the  flames  were  across  the 


THE    CITY   BY    THE    LAKE         207 

bridge,  at  place  after  place,  sweeping  all  before 
them.  Flanking  columns  were  sent  off  to  each 
side,  devastating  a  wide  swath  of  business  blocks. 
Buildings  of  stone  and  brick  and  iron,  supposed  to 
be  fireproof,  crumbled  and  melted  down  before  the 
awful  heat.  They  ignited  suddenly  all  over,  just  as 
a  sheet  of  paper,  held  to  the  fire,  is  scorched  and 
breaks  out  in  flame. 

From  ten  o'clock  till  morning,  till  noon,  till  night, 
the  fire  raged.  Miserable  hovels,  splendid  public 
buildings,  beautiful  homes,  stores,  churches,  all  fell 
before  it,  like  ripe  wheat  before  the  reaper.  The 
pumping  engines  at  the  water-works  were  disabled, 
set  on  fire  when  a  burning  roof  fell  on  the  tower. 
And  with  the  lake  at  hand,  three  hundred  and  sixty 
miles  long  and  seven  hundred  feet  deep,  the  supply 
of  water  was  cut  off  and  the  people  were  helpless.7 
In  some  places  counter-fires  were  started,  and  build- 
ings blown  up  with  gunpowder,  but  against  the  gale 
nothing  was  accomplished.  It  was  a  vast  ocean  of 
flame,  sweeping  over  the  city  in  mile-long  billows 
and  breakers. 

The  streets  were  as  light  as  day,  and  were 
crowded  with  people,  first  as  spectators,  later  as 
refugees.  Goods  piled  up  in  the  street  to  be  carted 
away  were  frequently  carried  off.  Draymen  charged 
enormous  prices  for  taking  loads.  Some  hackmen, 
extorting  a  poor  woman's  all,  threw  off  her  goods  at 


208  ILLINOIS 

the  next  corner  and  repeated  the  process  upon  an- 
other customer.  Frequently  the  owner  was  reas- 
sessed, half-way  to  safety.  And  payment  must  be 
in  cash. 

"What's  your  check  worth?"  one  driver  asked. 
"The  bank's  already  burned !" 

In  the  confusion  and  turmoil  streets  were  gorged 
with  crowds  of  people  and  passing  vehicles.  Dazed 
animals  dashed  about.  There  were  thrilling  rescues, 
sad  separation  of  families,  heroism  on  every  side, 
baser  passions  breaking  out — insults,  robbery,  as- 
sassination. Prisoners,  released  to  save  their  lives, 
promptly  pillaged  a  jewelry  store. 

"The  scene  was  indescribable,"  said  an  onlooker 
the  next  day.  ".  .  .  The  great,  dazzling,  mount- 
ing light,  the  crash  and  roar  of  the  conflagration, 
and  the  desperate  flight  of  the  crowd.  .  .  .  They 
stood  transfixed,  with  a  mingled  feeling  of  horror 
and  admiration,  and  while  they  often  exclaimed  at 
the  beauty  of  the  scene,  they  all  devoutly  prayed  that 
they  might  never  see  such  another. 

"To  the  roar  which  the  simple  process  of  com- 
bustion always  makes,  magnified  here  to  so  grand  an 
extent,  was  added  the  crash  of  falling  buildings  and 
the  constant  explosions  of  stores  of  oil.  The  noise 
of  the  crowd  was  nothing  compared  with  this  chaos 
of  sound.  .  .  . 

"I  saw  men,  women,  and  children,  in  every  vari- 
ety of  dress,  with  the  motley  collection  of  effects 


THE    CITY   BY    THE    LAKE         209 

which  they  sought  to  save.  Some  had  silver,  some 
valuable  papers,  some  pictures,  carpets,  beds,  etc. 
One  little  child  had  her  doll  tenderly  pressed  in  her 
arms.  An  old  Irish  woman  was  cherishing  a  grunt- 
ing pig.  There  was  a  singular  mixture  of  the  awful, 
the  ludicrous,  and  the  pathetic.  .  .  . 

"A  torrent  of  humanity  was  pouring  over  the 
bridge.  .  .  .  Drays,  express  wagons,  trucks,  and 
conveyances  of  every  conceivable  species  and  size, 
crowded  across  in  indiscriminate  haste.  Collisions 
happened  almost  every  moment.  The  same  long  line 
of  men  dragging  trunks  was  here,  many  of  them 
tugging  over  the  ground  with  loads  which  a  horse 
would  strain  at.  Women  were  there,  staggering 
under  weights  upon  their  backs.  Now  and  then  a 
stray  schooner  came  up,  and  the  bridge  must  be 
opened.  Then  arose  a  howl  of  indignation  along 
the  line,  audible  above  the  tumult.  .  .  . 

"I  saw  an  undertaker  rushing  over  the  bridge 
with  his  mournful  stock.  He  had  taken  a  dray,  but 
was  unable  to  load  all  of  his  goods  into  the  vehicle. 
So  he  employed  half  a  dozen  boys,  gave  each  of 
them  a  coffin,  took  a  large  one  himself,  and  headed 
the  weird  procession.  The  sight  of  those  coffins, 
upright,  and  bobbing  along  just  above  the  heads  of 
the  crowd,  without  any  apparent  help,  was  startling, 
and  we  laughed  quite  merrily."8 

Crowds  collected  on  the  beaches,  and  were  fre- 
quently driven  into  the  lake  for  refuge  against  the 
scorching  flames.  People  gathered  in  an  old  ceme- 
tery, and  on  the  bleak  prairie  back  of  the  city.  Sick 


210  ILLINOIS 

and  helpless,  young  and  old,  rich  and  poor,  the 
vicious  and  the  good,  were  huddled  together,  with- 
out food. 

The  Chicago  fire  had  no  precedent  in  history.  It 
is  the  most  overwhelming  that  ever  visited  a  com- 
munity. The  city  had  been  built  up  by  persistent 
energy,  daring  enterprise,  and  far-reaching  plans. 
Now,  a  hundred  thousand  people  were  homeless  and 
out  of  employment,  twenty  thousand  buildings  were 
destroyed,  and  property  worth  nearly  two  hundred 
millions.9 

Prostrate  as  the  city  was,  Monday  saw  deter- 
mined efforts  to  bring  order  out  of  the  chaos.  The 
mayor  had  telegraphed  to  Joliet  and  Springfield, 
even  to  Milwaukee  and  Detroit,  for  fire  engines.  He 
now  asked  for  carloads  of  bread.  He  issued  a  proc- 
lamation fixing  the  price  for  a  loaf  and  for  drayage, 
telling  people  where  to  apply  for  food,  and  warning 
them  of  the  danger  of  falling  walls. 

Theft  and  arson  were  frequently  reported. 
"Roughs"  from  all  parts  of  Chicago  and  neighbor- 
ing towns  invaded  the  scene,  plundering  the  suffer- 
ers. Two  thousand  extra  police  were  sworn  in,  state 
troops  were  called  out,  and  Sheridan,  with  several 
companies  of  the  regular  army,  took  charge  in  the 
city. 

The  mayor  organized  bureaus  to  give  out  relief 
with  system  and  efficiency.  Carloads  of  provisions 


THE   CITY   BY   THE   LAKE         211 

and  clothing  were  received.  A  wave  of  sympathy 
and  practical  benevolence  set  in  toward  Chicago, 
from  every  part  of  the  world.  Such  a  going  forth 
of  help,  instant  and  mighty,  was  never  known  be- 
fore in  human  history.  While  the  fire  was  still 
burning,  cities  great  and  small,  in  every  state,  sent 
messages  telling  how  much  they  felt  for  the  suffer- 
ers, in  dollars.  St.  Louis  and  Cincinnati,  Chicago's 
two  competitors  in  trade,  gave  generously,  their 
charity  forgetting  all  rivalry. 

And  while  temporary  help  was  being  given,  plans 
were  making  to  rebuild.  No  one  said,  "The  town 
is  gone  up.  Our  capital's  wiped  out  of  existence. 
There  will  not  be  an  insurance  company  left.  The 
city's  trade  must  go  to  St.  Louis  and  Cincinnati.  If 
we  had  any  customers  we  couldn't  do  business,  for 
we've  no  place  to  transact  it.  We  may  as  well  leave 
at  once."  Instead,  merchants  ordered  new  stocks  of 
goods  from  the  east,  the  moment  the  telegraph  wires 
were  repaired.  Long  before  the  ruins  had  cooled 
one  man  put  up  a  shingle  on  the  site  of  his  store, 
which  read,  "All  gone  but  wife,  children,  and  en- 
ergy"— and  he  was  typical  of  the  others. 

Instead  of  losing  heart  and  being  overwhelmed 
by  the  loss,  Chicago  undismayed  planned  a  greater 
city.  For  the  fire  had  destroyed  the  results,  not  the 
causes,  of  her  success— the  lake,  the  canal,  the  rail- 
roads, the  inherent  vitality  and  buoyant  spirits  of 


212  ILLINOIS 

her  people.  The  fire  could  take  in  a  night  what  had 
been  forty-four  years  in  building.  It  could  par- 
alyze the  city's  energy  for  a  day,  it  could  not  burn 
her  indomitable  pluck  and  elastic  hope.  On  the  con- 
trary, she  gained  a  great  stimulus  to  activity  and 
resolutely  faced  the  task  of  rebuilding.  With  noth- 
ing but  the  future  greatness  of  their  city  as  security, 
her  bankers  borrowed  millions  from  eastern  capital- 
ists. 

Like  the  phcenix  of  old,  in  three  short  years  there 
rose  beside  the  lake  a  new  Chicago,  a  monument  to 
the  energy  and  faith  of  her  citizens.  And  to-day  she 
is  the  metropolis  not  only  of  Illinois,  but  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi Valley  and  the  northwest. .  With  the  an- 
nexation of  suburban  towns,  she  is  now  the  fifth 
city  in  the  world,  with  a  larger  area  than  Berlin  or 
Paris,  than  New  York  or  London.10  Her  market  for 
livestock  and  grain  is  the  greatest  in  the  land.  She 
is  the  largest  railroad  center.  Her  system  of  parks 
and  connecting  boulevards  is  the  most  magnificent  in 
the  world. 

And  only  twenty  years  after  the  great  fire,  Con- 
gress chose  Chicago  as  the  site  for  the  "White 
City,"  to  house  the  world's  fair  celebrating  the  four 
hundredth  anniversary  of  the  discovery  of  America. 

Currey's  History  of  Chicago  and  Quaife's  Chi- 
cago and  the  Old  Northwest  will  tell  you  more  of 


THE    CITY    BY    THE    LAKE         213 

the  city  by  the  lake.  Chicago  and  the  Great  Con- 
flagration, written  by  Colbert  and  Chamberlin,  is 
a  detailed  story  of  the  fire,  with  many  individual 
accounts. 


XXVI 

EDUCATION,   YESTERDAY  AND  TO-DAY 

"T  THANK  God  there  are  in  Virginia  no  free 
A  schools  nor  printing,  and  I  hope  we  shall  not 
have;  for  learning  hath  brought  disobedience  and 
heresy  into  the  world,"  wrote  Governor  Berkeley  in 
1670.  And  a  century  later  this  same  state  of  Vir- 
ginia was  surveying  the  Illinois  territory,  on  the  new 
township  system,  and  reserving  every  section  six- 
teen for  the  use  of  schools ! 

One  of  the  stipulations  in  the  ordinance  of  1787, 
you  remember,  was  that  "schools  and  the  means  of 
education  shall  forever  be  encouraged,"  for  knowl- 
edge and  religion  and  morality  were  declared  "nec- 
essary to  the  good  government  and  happiness  of 
mankind."1 

The  far-seeing  Nathaniel  Pope,  who  accomplished 
so  much  for  Illinois  in  changing  the  northern  bound- 
ary, did  perhaps  an  equal  service  in  putting  through 
his  suggestion  that  three  per  cent,  of  the  land  office 
sales  should  be  used  for  educational  purposes,  and 
a  sixth  of  this  sum  for  a  college  or  university.  In 
1819  the  state  transferred  the  school  lands  to  the 

214 


EDUCATION  215 

various  townships,  with  power  to  lease,  and  later 
to  sell  them.2  The  money  from  these  sales  was  kept 
as  a  permanent  and  separate  fund  and  loaned  at 
interest  to  the  state.  But  if  the  land  had  been  hus- 
banded, as  was  done  in  Texas,  it  would  be  worth 
many  millions  to-day,  and  its  income  would  make 
the  school  tax  a  nominal  sum. 

The  very  first  schools  in  Illinois  were  taught  by 
the  French  priests,  but  little  is  known  of  them. 
Among  the  early  American  settlers,  schools  were 
established  soon  after  their  arrival,  the  first  of 
which  we  have  record  in  Monroe  County  in  1783.3 
They  were  not  very  good  schools,  it  is  true,  but  the 
best  possible  under  pioneer  conditions.  The  marvel 
is  that  with  land  to  be  cleared  and  houses  raised, 
men  had  a  moment  to  give  to  education.  But  early 
a  start  was  made  and  the  work  endured. 

The  first  schools  were  private.  Each  teacher 
worked  up  his  own,  by  a  house-to-house  visit,  carry- 
ing his  subscription  paper  and  getting  pupils  signed 
up.  Tuition  was  a  dollar  and  a  half  or  two  dollars 
for  a  term  of  eleven  weeks,  in  rare  cases,  three  dol- 
lars. Often  a  parent  would  subscribe  for  a  half- 
pupil:  this  meant  that  his  child  would  go  half  the 
time.  Where  there  were  several  children  in  one 
family  and  a  scarcity  of  money,  it  was  a  common 
custom  to  pay  for  two  and  divide  the  term  among 
the  whole  number.  "You  can  imagine  the  uphill 


216  ILLINOIS 

work  of  getting  any  schooling,"  says  a  great-grand- 
mother, telling  of  her  pioneer  childhood.4 

The  teacher  was  usually  Irish  or  Scotch;  some- 
times a  surveyor  or  mechanic,  who  taught  in  the 
winter  and  took  up  his  craft  again  when  spring 
opened.  In  most  schools  it  was  a  sufficient  qualifi- 
cation if  he  knew  the  three  R's;  he  must  be  able  to 
make  a  quill  pen  that  would  not  scratch;  he  must 
also  have  the  ability  to  wield  the  birch  well,  for 
"larnin'  and  lickin'  "  were  inseparable.  Some  teach- 
ers whipped  every  pupil  on  Friday  afternoons, 
whether  it  was  deserved  or  not,  on  the  general  prin- 
ciple that  it  was  good  for  the  school.  One  teacher 
was  described  as  "a  worthy  man  and  an  excellent 
scholar,  but  so  easy  with  children  in  regard  to  dis- 
cipline that  his  school  was  considered  as  defective." 

The  schoolhouse  was  a  log  cabin,  fourteen  by  six- 
teen feet,  occasionally  eighteen  by  twenty.  The 
space  between  the  logs  was  "chinked"  with  clay. 
Sometimes  greased  paper  was  used  for  window 
glass ;  sometimes  one  log  was  left  out  for  the  entire 
length  of  the  building,  and  a  row  of  small  panes  of 
glass  inserted.  The  cabin  had  a  clapboard  roof,  kept 
down  by  "weight  poles" ;  a  puncheon  floor,  seats 
made  of  slabs  sawed  from  the  sides  of  logs,  without 
backs  of  any  kind.  There  was  always  a  great  fire- 
place, but  most  of  the  heat  went  up  the  chimney. 
On  the  opposite  side  of  the  room  children  suffered 


The  old  log  school  house 


A  rural  community  centre  with  its  consolidated  school  and  church 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 


EDUCATION  217 

from  the  cold.  There  were  two  or  three  shelves  for 
spare  books  and  dinner  baskets,  a  small  puncheon 
table  and  splint-bottomed  chair  for  the  teacher. 

Text-books  were  few  in  number,  and  uninterest- 
ing; always  a  speller,  and  reader — often  this  was 
gossipy  Parson  Weems's  Life  of  Washington, 
which  Lincoln  shared  with  many  a  frontier  child. 
Writing  books  were  made  at  home,  of  unruled  pa- 
per, the  teacher  ruling  lines  as  needed,  with  a  bit  of 
lead.  The  slates  had  no  frames,  and  to  prevent  their 
being  dropped  and  broken,  a  hole  was  made  in  one 
side,  a  string  put  through  it,  and  the  slate  hung 
round  the  pupil's  neck. 

What  was  known  as  the  "loud  school"  was  not 
uncommon.  "Pupils  will  study  spelling,"  the 
teacher  would  announce.  And  they  would  all  begin 
aloud,  each  for  himself,  without  trying  to  keep  to- 
gether. When  a  lull  came  after  a  while,  the  teacher 
would  stamp  on  the  floor  and  say,  "Study  harder!" 
The  noise,  of  course,  was  terrific,  but  it  sounded  as 
if  something  was  being  accomplished. 

In  1824  Joseph  Duncan,  who  was  afterward  gov- 
ernor, introduced  into  the  senate  a  bill  for  establish- 
ing free  schools,  and  this  was  passed.  It  provided 
for  a  school  or  schools  in  every  county,  for  trustees 
and  the  examination  of  teachers,  and  a  school  tax, 
which  could  be  paid  in  cash  or  in  good  merchantable 
produce  at  the  market  price.5  Ford  says  that  the  law 


218  ILLINOIS 

worked  admirably  well;  but  such  a  storm  of  disap- 
proval and  clamoring  opposition  as  went  up  over 
the  school  tax ! 

"Poor  people  found  that  their  children  would 
be  educated  and  wholly  unfitted  for  work  on  the 
farm."  The  very  class  it  was  planned  to  benefit  op- 
posed it  most  bitterly,  though  their  wealthier  neigh- 
bors bore  the  brunt  of  the  expense.  At  the  very  next 
session  of  the  legislature,  the  law  was  so  amended 
that  its  usefulness  was  gone.  Peck  complained  that 
its  short  life  was  due  to  designing  and  selfish  poli- 
ticians who  "seized  hold  of  it  to  raise  popular  fer- 
ment." 

Duncan's  was  a  good  measure,  how  good  you  may 
judge  when  you  learn  that  to-day's  law  embodies  the 
very  same  fundamental  principles  and  many  of  its 
details.6  But  it  was  in  advance  of  the  age,  and  the 
circumstances  of  the  common  people;  and  of  the 
teachers,  too!  Very  few  applicants  could  meet  the 
requirement  for  history,  geography  and  grammar, 
in  addition  to  the  three  R's ;  and  as  late  as  1847  cer- 
tificates were  given  for  one  or  more  subjects. 

But  some  people  did  not  lose  sight  of  the  Duncan 
plan,  and  the  question  of  better  schools  was  agi- 
tated. This  was  especially  true  after  the  settlers 
from  the  eastern  states  and  New  England  began 
coming  to  Illinois  in  large  numbers.  In  1840  an 
association  was  formed  to  secure  a  better  system  of 


EDUCATION  219 

common  schools.  For  years  it  kept  up  a  persistent 
campaign  of  education,  through  meetings,  a  mag- 
azine, local  societies  and  memorials  to  the  legisla- 
ture.7 

They  found  throughout  the  state  a  listless  apathy, 
far  worse  than  fiery  opposition ;  but  slowly  they  won 
public  opinion  to  see  the  need  for  free  schools. 
Educating  popular  sentiment  to  a  higher  standard  is 
never  an  easy  task — overcoming  old  and  deep- 
rooted  prejudices,  opposing  false  ideas  of  economy 
in  state  affairs,  convincing  men  that  it  is  both  a  right 
and  a  duty  to  tax  every  man's  property  and  spend 
the  money  to  educate  every  child.  For  this  is  a  pub- 
lic benefit,  they  urged,  as  necessary  as  courts  or 
highroads.  It  is  cheaper  to  sustain  schools  than 
poorhouses  and  prisons!8 

The  legislature  in  1845  voted  to  have  a  state 
superintendent  of  schools;  but  for  the  sake  of  econ- 
omy the  secretary  of  state  was  given  this  work,  in 
addition  to  his  own.  Nine  years  later  it  was  made 
a  separate  office,  first  held  by  Ninian  W.  Edwards. 
The  year  1855  marks  the  commencement  of  the 
wonderful  school  system  which  to-day  is  the  state's 
pride.  The  average  cost  for  a  pupil  is  now  thirteen 
times  the  sum  spent  in  the  fifties.  The  permanent 
school  funds  provide  about  a  tenth  of  the  amount  re- 
quired each  year,  and  the  balance  is  raised  by  taxa- 
tion. Illinois  now  ranks  fourth  among  the  states 


220  ILLINOIS 

for  the  money  spent  each  year  for  public 
schools. 

Immediately  after  the  passage  of  the  Edwards 
law  providing  for  this  school  tax,  one  county  re- 
ported, "As  common  sense  would  teach,  it  has  put 
life  into  the  system,  and  shows  at  once,  as  the  old 
proverb  says,  'Money  makes  the  mare  go.'  So  does 
it  make  the  schools  go,  and  without  it  they  wouldn't 
go."  But  the  report  continues,  "Our  teachers  are 
deficient  both  in  literary  attainments  and  practical 
experience,  but  even  of  such  as  are  to  be  had,  the 
supply  is  by  no  means  sufficient."9  This  was  the 
complaint  everywhere,  and  in  1857  a  normal  school 
was  opened,  the  first  in  the  middle  west;  and  so 
great  was  its  success,  so  great  the  demand  for 
trained  teachers,  that  Illinois  now  has  five  normal 
schools. 

Education  in  the  cities  has  made  steady  progress, 
with  improved  buildings,  more  and  better  trained 
teachers,  better  books,  and  the  establishment  of  high 
schools.  But  the  improvements  in  the  rural  schools 
have  been  even  more  marked.  Attractive  buildings 
and  grounds,  careful  grading  and  regular  promo- 
tion, and  consolidated  schools,  have  banished  the  un- 
inviting "little  red  schoolhouse." 

The  seminary  of  learning  for  which  Pope  made 
provision  did  not  materialize  for  nearly  half  a  cen- 
tury, though  thirty-six  sections  of  land  were  re- 


EDUCATION  221 

served  for  this  purpose.  Congress  in  1$62  made  a 
donation  of  land  to  the  several  states,  for  agricul- 
tural and  industrial  colleges.  Illinois's  share  was 
four  hundred  eighty  thousand  acres.  When  the  leg- 
islature offered  the  new  institution  to  the  highest 
bidder,  Champaign  won  the  prize.  And  the  Uni- 
versity of  Illinois  has  now  six  thousand  students. 

But  you  must  not  think  that  the  pioneers  were  in- 
terested only  in  schools  for  children,  and  that  no 
plans  were  made  for  higher  education.  John  Mason 
Peck  was  sent  west  in  1817,  to  establish  headquar- 
ters for  the  frontier  work  of  a  missionary  society, 
whose  expressed  purpose  was  "to  spread  the  gospel 
and  promote  schools."  He  traveled  through  the 
Mississippi  Valley,  starting  a  church  and  a  school 
side  by  side.10  Visiting  Vandalia,  he  secured  the 
promise  of  many  public  men,  to  help  in  starting  an 
institution  of  learning.  Their  help,  however, 
amounted  to  little  more  than  a  board  of  trustees. 
Peck  did  the  work  and  carried  the  burdens. 

A  stranger  on  horseback  came  along  the  road 
running  from  St.  Louis  to  Vincennes,  where  he  was 
chopping  logs. 

"What  are  you  doing  here?" 

"I  am  building  a  seminary." 

Opened  in  1827,  with  teachers  from  the  east, 
Rock  Spring  Seminary  was  the  pioneer  of  higher 
education  in  the  west.  Later  it  was  moved  to  Upper 


222  ILLINOIS 

Alton,  and  the  name  changed  to  Shurtleff  College, 
because  of  the  generous  gift  of  Doctor  Shurtleff,  of 
Boston.11  A  strong  friendship  grew  up  between 
Peck  and  the  traveler  on  horseback,  who  afterward 
founded  Illinois  College  at  Jacksonville.  McKen- 
dree  had  opened  at  Lebanon ;  and  these  three  pioneer 
colleges,  chartered  by  the  legislature  in  1835,  are 
still  educating  the  young  people  of  Illinois. 

Meanwhile  the  number  of  colleges  and  universities 
in  the  state  has  increased  to  thirty-two.  Illinois 
has  thus  exemplified  her  belief  that  the  sure  founda- 
tions of  the  state  are  laid  in  knowledge  and  not  in 
ignorance. 

And  much  of  this  progress  in  education  is  indi- 
rectly due  to  the  churches  of  Illinois.  From  the 
French  priests  to  the  itinerant  preachers  of  the  pio- 
neerperiod,  and  on  to  the  highly  educated  ministers 
of  to-day,  the  promotion  of  schools  and  colleges  has" 
been  conspicuous  among  church  activities.  For  re- 
ligion and  learning  advance  among  a  people  with 
equal  strides.  And  the  churches  of  Illinois  have 
always  recognized  that  education  makes  a  valuable 
contribution  to  the  best  type  of  Christian  service. 


XXVII 

GREATNESS  OF  THE  STATE 

CENTURIES  ago  nature  began  a  generous  pol- 
icy with  Illinois.  Waterways  and  mines  and 
rich,  rich  soil  she  provided  with  unstinted  hand. 
And,  thanks  to  her  gifts  and  to  the  wise  conserva- 
tion that  is  now  being  adopted,  she  promises  to  be  a 
great  mining  and  agricultural  state  for  generations 
to  come.  In  the  production  of  coal  and  in  manu- 
facturing, she  stands  third  in  the  list  of  states; 
fourth  for  wheat ;  second  for  oats,  first  for  railroads 
and  meat  packing  and  for  corn.  Of  the  eight  banner 
agricultural  counties  in  the  nation,  four  are  in  Illi- 
nois. 

But  these  are  her  material  wealth.  And  among 
the  states  she  ranks  high  in  other  lines.  One  of  these 
is  the  special  care  she  gives  to  her  wards.  In  the 
early  days,  the  number  of  such  citizens  was  very 
small.  In  one  county,  Pope  and  Bond  dispensed 
public  charity,  their  yearly  duty  being  to  farm  out  to 
the  lowest  bidder  the  care  of  one  old  man  who  was 
both  poor  and  blind.1  From  this  beginning  came  the 

223 


224  ILLINOIS 

present  splendid  system  of  state  charity,  which  cares 
for  twenty-one  thousand  persons  and  costs  six  mil- 
lions a  year^ 

In  the  early  days,  law  breakers  were  punished  by 
public  flogging;  but  soon  imprisonment  was  substi- 
tuted. Instead  of  the  whipping-post  and  stocks,  the 
community  built  a  rude  log  jail.  Prisoners  often 
escaped,  and  better  places  of  confinement  were 
needed.  But  the  people  were  poor  and  bitterly  op- 
posed to  taxation  for  any  purpose;  so  they  would 
never  consider  a  special  tax  for  a  prison.  How  raise 
the  funds? 

The  legislature  again  asked  Congress  to  help, 
and  some  forty  thousand  acres  of  saline  lands  were 
granted,  and  part  of  the  money  from  their  sale  used 
for  a  state  prison  at  Alton.  This  first  penitentiary, 
opened  in  1833,  had  twenty-four  cells,  and  for 
twenty- four  years  more  were  built  as  needed.  But 
the  accommodations  were  entirely  inadequate,  as  the 
population  increased,  and  a  new  prison  was  built  at 
Joliet.  The  last  convicts  were  sent  from  Alton  in 
1860.  But  in  less  than  ten  years  this  building,  too, 
was  overcrowded  and  another  was  planned  for 
Chester.2 

Illinois  was  one  of  the  first  states  to  experiment 
in  prison  reform.  The  indeterminate  sentence,  the 
wearing  of  stripes  only  as  a  special  punishment,  the 


GREATNESS    OF   THE   STATE      225 

honor  and  merit  systems,  are  some  of  the  steps  taken 
in  recent  years  for  a  more  intelligent  and  humane 
care  of  these  people. 

Aside  from  actual  convicts,  the  only  citizens  re- 
ceiving public  care,  in  the  early  days,  were  the  pau- 
pers. But  attention  was  called  to  the  fact  that  n.any 
of  these  so-called  paupers  might  become  self-sup- 
porting, if  they  could  be  given  some  education.  For 
deaf  and  dumb  children  a  special  school  was  planned 
in  Jacksonville.  Beginning  in  1842  with  four  pupils, 
it  is  now  the  largest  of  its  kind  in  the  world.  About 
this  time  and  in  the  same  city,  a  blind  man  started 
a  school  for  blind  children.  Supported  at  first  by 
private  subscription,  it  soon  became  a  state  school, 
with  this  same  man  as  its  head.  These  two  schools 
train  into  useful  citizens  children  who  would  other- 
wise be  only  a  burden  to  society.3 

To  Dorothea  L.  Dix  Illinois  owes  the  beginning 
of  her  care  for  the  insane.  She  traveled  over  the 
state,  addressing  meetings  everywhere  in  behalf  of 
these  unfortunates.  She  visited  Springfield  and  ad- 
dressed the  legislature;  and  as  a  result  of  her  ef- 
forts a  state  hospital  was  opened  in  1851.  This 
work  has  greatly  increased,  with  the  growth  of  pop- 
ulation and  of  city  life,  with  its  constant  strain  and 
stress.  To  provide  for  these  patients,  Illinois  has 
added  hospital  after  hospital  till  she  now  has  seven, 


226  ILLINOIS 

and  an  eighth  for  insane  criminals.  The  one  in 
Kankakee,  built  on  the  cottage  plan,  has  been  widely 
copied  in  other  states. 

Illinois  has  also  an  institution  for  feeble-minded 
children,  a  colony  for  epileptics,  a  home  for  soldiers 
and  sailors,  for  soldiers'  orphans,  for  soldiers'  wid- 
ows, and  reform  schools  for  juvenile  offenders. 
Each  year  a  larger  number  of  persons  is  cared  for, 
but  the  per  capita  cost  has  decreased  in  the  last  dec- 
ades. Much  of  this  is  due  to  an  effort  to  take  the 
state  institutions  out  of  politics,  making  merit  and 
not  party  service  the  reason  for  all  appointments, 
and  putting  the  management  for  all  the  twenty-one 
into  the  hands  of  a  central  organization.  Instead  of 
one  hundred  and  twenty-five  boards  and  commis- 
sions, Illinois  now  has  nine  men  in  charge  of  this 
work,  a  department  of  public  service  planned  for  a 
businesslike  and  efficient  administration  of  the  care 
of  her  wards. 

But  great  as  is  Illinois  for  her  natural  resources 
and  her  state  institutions,  her  true  greatness  is  her 
people.  Therein  rests  the  greatness  of  any  state. 
She  has  a  varied  population,  the  richer  for  this 
mingling  and  mixing,  this  combining  of  many  peo- 
ples. 

The  French,  the  earliest  comers,  contributed  a 
strain  of  romance  and  gaiety.  .  The  soldiers  of 
Clark's  expedition  were  a  sturdy  backwoods  type, 


GREATNESS    OF   THE    STATE      227 

hardy  pioneers,  adventurous  and  boldly  daring,  self- 
reliant.  Then  came  settlers  from  the  southern 
states,  from  the  Carolinas,  from  Virginia  and  Ken- 
tucky, giving 'a  southern  flavor  to  society  and  poli- 
tics that  lasted  for  more  than  two  generations.  Fol- 
lowing them  were  the  New  Englanders  and  men 
from  New  York  and  Pennsylvania,  energetic  and 
enterprising  Yankees,  good  business  men,  starting 
schools  and  churches  as  soon  as  their  own  cabins 
were  under  way.  And  all  of  these,  with  a  wonder- 
ful pride  in  the  state,  loyal  and  faithful  to  Illinois. 

Last  of  our  settlers  are  the  immigrants  from 
Europe,  citizens  of  the  old  world,  come  to  find  in 
the  new,  social  and  religious  and  political  liberty; 
the  chance  to  improve,  to  forge  ahead  if  they  have 
ability,  instead  of  staying  always  in  the  class  where 
they  were  born.  In  the  American  melting  pot  Illi- 
nois does  her  share  of  the  fusing  process ;  for  only 
two  states  have  a  larger  number  of  foreigners. 

In  the  middle  of  the  century  men  from  Ireland 
and  Scotland,  from  Germany  and  Scandinavia,  fol- 
lowing the  parallels  of  latitude,  came  to  Illinois  and 
settled  in  the  country,  taking  up  government  land. 
Of  late  years  there  has  been  a  decided  change  in 
the  character  of  our  immigrants.  They  now  come 
from  the  south  of  Europe,  Italians  and  Russians 
and  Hungarians.  The  growth  of  manufacturing 
and  the  absence  of  cheap  land  have  planted  these 


228  ILLINOIS 

newcomers  in  the  cities  instead  of  on  the  farms. 
On  the  streets  of  Chicago  every  other  man  you  meet 
is  a  foreigner  or  the  son  of  a  foreigner.  The  city 
has  become  a  great  distributing  station  for  all  the 
northwest.  Its  immigrant  population  is  constantly 
changing:  the  newcomers  live  there  a  few  years, 
to  be  near  their  friends,  to  learn  English,  to  get 
adjusted  to  life  in  a  new  country. 

Many  of  these  foreigners  need  our  help  during 
the  slow  process  of  adjustment  and  assimilation. 
They  need  a  background  of  American  history,  and 
the  American  "feel."  They  need  to  be  told  of  the 
educational  advantages  open  to  them,  of  help  easily 
secured.  They  need  to  be  warned  of  dangers  and 
pitfalls,  that  they  may  see  the  best  and  not  the 
worst  of  our  communities.  Their  coming  to  us  is 
a  responsibility,  creating,  it  is  true,  many  problems 
in  our  social  and  industrial  and  political  life,  in- 
creasingly important.  But  it  is  a  responsibility  well 
worth  while.  For  they  provide  material  for  loyal 
citizens.  They  add  a  variety  and  richness  to  the 
nation,  if  we  will  use  and  not  abuse  their  presence 
among  us. 

Illinois  is,  you  realize,  a  great  state,  with  a  past 
rich  and  interesting,  a  present  proud  and  promising. 
What  of  the  future?  That  rests  with  us,  her  chil- 
dren, to  build  it  worthily.  It  is  to  him  that  hath 


GREATNESS    OF   THE    STATE      229 

that  much  is  given.  Reverently  we  guard,  tenderly 
we  treasure  the  memory  of  our  forefathers.  In- 
heritors of  such  a  past,  we  have  a  great  responsi- 
bility, inescapable,  nor  would  we  escape  it  if  we 
could. 

To  belong  to  Illinois,  to  the  state  of  Lincoln, 
spells  duty  and  privilege  and  high  obligation.  For 
he  is  the  vindication  of  American  democracy,  of 
the  dignity  and  nobility  of  the  common  people. 
"With  malice  toward  none,  with  charity  for  all, 
with  firmness  in  the  right  as  God  gives  us  to  see 
the  right,  let  us  strive  on  to  finish"  worthily  the 
work  we  are  in — to  achieve  in  Illinois  a  true  democ- 
racy, a  government  of  and  by  and  for  the  people. 


EPILOGUE 

SUCH,  briefly  told,  is  the  story  of  Illinois.  But 
this  book  will  have  failed  of  its  purpose  if  you 
read  it  and  no  more.  What  it  has  tried  to  do  is 
to  arouse  your  interest  in  the  great  story  of  a  great 
state,  and  make  you  want  to  find  out  more  for  your- 
self. 

Did  you  know  that  John  Todd's  record  book  tells 
of  an  incident  in  Illinois  paralleling  the  Salem  witch- 
craft?1 That  the  tragedy  at  Mararnech  duplicates 
the  story  of  the  Pequot  war?2  That  in  the  dead  of 
winter  an  Illinois  soldier  made  a  Paul  Revere  ride, 
galloping  across  seven  counties  to  warn  the  Fort 
Armstrong  garrison  to  be  up  and  to  arm?3 

Did  you  know  that  one  Illinois  governor  was 
secretary  to  a  president  and  went  to  Europe  on  a 
diplomatic  mission  to  the  Czar?4  That  one  governor 
was  inaugurated  in  the  executive  mansion,  instead 
of  in  the  state  house?  He  was,  by  the  way,  the 
colonel  who  almost  killed  (?)  Jefferson  Davis  in 
the  duel. 

Did  you  know  that  Illinois  touches  the  story  of 
Aaron  Burr  and  the  Blennerhassets  ?5  Have  you 
read  the  thrilling  tale  of  the  1814  rangers  under 

230 


EPILOGUE  231 

Stephen  Rector,  who  so  gallantly  and  coolly  rescued 
their  comrades  from  Black  Hawk's  band  at  Camp- 
bell's Island,  "as  heroic  a  deed  of  daring  as  was 
ever  performed  in  war"?8  There  are  so  many  in- 
teresting incidents ! 

To  name  only  a  few  among  the  many  whose  sto- 
ries you  will  greatly  enjoy,  find  out  something  about 
Shabona,  "the  white  man's  friend,"7  and  Baker, 
"the  modern  knight-errant."8  Look  up  the  lives  of 
Francis  Vigo9  and  D'Artaguette,10  of  John  Mason 
Peck11  and  Jean  Gabriel  Cerre.12  What  can  you 
learn  of  Edgar,13  of  Pierre  Menard  and  his  salt,14 
of  Fort  Massac?15  Of  the  Bishop  Hill  colony,16 
the  Spanish  invasion,17  the  lead  mines  at  Fever 
River,18  the  soldier  of  fortune,  St.  Leger  Grenfell?19 

Did  you  know  that  after  the  Mormons  left  Nau- 
voo,  the  Icarians  settled  there,  and  developed  a 
community  life  which  was  for  a  time  most  success- 
ful?20 There  is  an  interesting  story  about  their 
leader,  Etienne  Cabet,  the  son  of  a  cooper,  who  was 
at  one  time  attorney-general  of  France  for  Corsica. 
With  his  followers,  men  of  six  countries,  he  came  to 
America,  not  expecting  to  make  people  perfect,  but 
to  establish  a  colony  which  should  be  a  practical  im- 
provement of  society.  Can  you  find  out  where  they 
got  their  name?  Trace  their  journey  from  France. 
Why  did  so  few  of  them  reach  Nauvoo?  How 
many  Icarians  made  up  this  single  family,  where 


232  ILLINOIS 

all  property  belonged  to  the  community,  and  each 
one  worked  for  all?  Could  they  produce  every- 
thing they  needed?  What  trades  did  they  follow, 
and  where  did  they  sell  their  surplus  goods?  How 
many  hours  made  a  day's  work  in  summer;  in  win- 
ter? How  were  they  governed?  You  must  read 
about  the  Mormon  temple,  converted  into  a  great 
dining-hall,  with  tracks  laid  from  the  kitchen  and 
cars  of  food  running  to  the  different  tables.  Did 
they  really  live  well  on  seven  cents  a  day  ?  Perhaps 
this  will  interest  you  in  other  community  experi- 
ments in  Illinois. 

What  governors,  beginning  with  St.  Clair,  owe 
their  positions  in  part  to  their  war  records?  How 
many  limped  into  office  on  Santa  Anna's  wooden 
leg?  Is  this  more  or  less  than  the  number  of  war- 
record  presidents?  How  many  of  our  governors 
were  born  in  Illinois?  Which  state  has  furnished 
us  the  most?  Can  you  think  why? 

Reminders  of  her  history  Illinois  has  preserved 
in  the  names  chosen  for  villages  and  towns  and 
cities,  for  townships  and  counties.  Go  over  these 
lists  and  see  how  many  you  can  find  that  are  French 
in  origin,  like  Fayette  and  Joliet.  How  many  sug- 
gest New  England,  like  Warren;  or  Virginia,  like 
Henry?  How  many  are  named  for  some  natural 
feature,  like  Island  Grove  or  Buffalo  Hart?  How 
many  are  Indian,  like  Peoria  ?  How  many  can  you 


EPILOGUE  233 

find  commemorating  the  public  service  of  some  dis- 
tinguished man,  like  Edwards  or  Pulaski? 

Make  friends  with  the  pioneers  of  your  commu- 
nity. All  too  quickly  they  are  passing.  From  such 
stories  and  reminiscences  as  theirs,  and  from  their 
old  letters,  history  is  made  to-morrow.  And  to 
you,  in  becoming  more  familiar  with  the  story  of 
Illinois,  the  author  wishes  half  the  keen  pleasure 
found  in  the  preparation  of  this  book. 

It  would  not  be  possible  to  tell  you  all  the  people 
who  have  helped  in  its  making.  But  needs  must 
be  mentioned  the  generous  service  of  the  state  his- 
torical library;  and  the  indebtedness  of  the  author 
to  many  writers  of  histories  of  Illinois,  to  newspa- 
per files  and  magazine  articles,  to  pamphlets  and 
books  on  special  subjects,  and  last  but  not  least,  to 
the  invaluable  publications  of  the  state  historical 
society. 

Among  the  books  consulted,  which  have  proved 
of  especial  help,  are : 

Arnold,  Isaac  N. — The  Life  of  Abraham  Lincoln. 

Bateman  and  Selby — Historical  Encyclopedia  of  Il- 
linois. 

Birkbeck,  Morris — Letters  from  Illinois  (1817). 
Notes  on  a  Journey  in  America  (1818). 

Breese,    Sidney — The    Early    History    of   Illinois 
(1673-1763). 

Brown,    Henry — History    of   Illinois    (to    1844). 


234  ILLINOIS 

Brown,  William  H. — Early  Movement  in  Illinois 
for  the  Legalisation  of  Slavery. 

Butterfield,  Consul  Willshire — History  of  George 
Rogers  Clark's  Conquest  of  the  Illinois  and  Wa- 
bash  Towns. 

Catherwood,  Mary  Hartwell — Old  Kaskaskia.  The 
Story  of  Tonty. 

Coffin,  Charles  Carleton- — Abraham  Lincoln. 

Colbert  and  Chamberlin — Chicago  and  the  Great 
Conflagration. 

Cook,  John  W. — History  of  Education  in  Illinois. 

Currey,  Josiah  Seymour — History  of  Chicago. 

Davidson  and  Stuve — A  Complete  History  of  Illi- 
nois (1673-1873). 

Dillon,  John  B. — History  of  Indiana. 

Drake,  Benjamin — Life  and  Adventures  of  Black 
Hawk. 

Dye,  Eva — The  Conquest. 

Edwards,  Ninian  Wirt — History  of  Illinois  (1778- 
1833)  and  Life  and  Times  of  Ninian  Edwards. 

English,  William  Hayden — Conquest  of  the  Coun- 
try Northwest  of  the  River  Ohio  and  Life  of 
George  Rogers  Clark. 

Farnum,  Eliza  W. — Life  in  Prairie  Land. 

Fergus  Historical  Series. 

Flower,  George — History  of  the  English  Settlement 
in  Edzvards  County. 

Foi;d,  Thomas— History  of  Illinois  (1818-1847). 

Gerhard,  Frederic — Illinois  as  It  Is  (to  1857). 

Green,  E.  B. — The  Government  of  Illinois. 

Harris,  N.  Dwight — The  History  of  Negro  Servi- 
tude in  Illinois. 


EPILOGUE  235 

Herndon,  William  Henry,  and  Weik,  Jesse — Abra- 
ham Lincoln,  the  True  Story  of  a  Great  Life. 

Illinois  Historical  Collections. 

Illinois  State  Historical  Society  —  Transactions, 
Publications,  Journals. 

Kinzie,  Mrs.  John  H. — Waubun,  the  Early  Day  in 
the  Northwest. 

Levasseur,  A. — Lafayette  in  America. 

Lincoln,  William  S. — Alton  Trials. 

Lovejoy,  Joseph  and  Owen — Memoir  of  Elijah  P. 
Love  joy. 

Mason,  Edward  G. — Chapters  from  Illinois  His- 
tory. 

Mather,  Irwin  F. — The  Making  of  Illinois. 

Meese,  William  A. — The  Battle  of  Campbell's  Is- 
land. The  Beginnings  of  Illinois. 

Moses,  John — Illinois,  Historical  and  Statistical. 

Nicolay  and  Hay — Abraham  Lincoln,  a  History. 

Nida,  William  Lewis — The  Story  of  Illinois  and 
Its  People. 

Ogg,  Frederick  Austin  (Ed.) — Personal  Narrative 
of  a  Residence  in  the  Illinois  Territory,  1817- 
1818,  by  Elias  Pym  Fordham. 

Parish,  John  Carl — The  Man  with  the  Iron  Hand. 

Parkman,  Francis — The  Conspiracy  of  Pontiac.  La 
Salle  and  the  Discovery  of  the  Great  West.  The 
Struggle  for  a  Continent. 

Parrish,  Randall — Historic  Illinois. 

Patterson,  J.  B.  (Ed.) — Autobiography  of  Black 
Hawk. 

Ouaife,  Milo  Milton — Chicago  and  the  Old  North- 
west (1673-1835). 


236  ILLINOIS 

Reynolds,  John — My  Own  Times.  The  Pioneer 
History  of  Illinois  (to  1818). 

Roosevelt,  Theodore — The  Winning  of  the  West. 

Shaw,  Albert — Icaria,  a  Study  in  Communistic  His- 
tory. 

Shea,  John  G. — Discovery  and  Exploration  of  the 
Mississippi  Valley. 

Smith,  George  Washington — A  Student's  History 
of  Illinois. 

Thwaites,  Reuben  Gold  (Ed.) — Jesuit  Relations. 

Thwaites,  Reuben  Gold — Early  Western  Travels 
(1748-1846).  How  George  Rogers  Clark  Won 
the  Northwest,  and  Other  Essays  in  Western  His- 
tory. Life  of  Marquette. 

Wallace,  Joseph — Life  and  Public  Services  of  Ed- 
ward D.  Baker. 

Washburne,  E.  B. — A  Sketch  of  Edward  Coles. 


QUESTIONS 


QUESTIONS 

CHAPTER  II 

Where  are  mounds  found  in  Illinois? 

What  suggestions  can  you  give  for  their  probable  use? 

What  do  the  articles  found  in  the  mounds  indicate  about  the 
builders  ? 

Why  was  Illinois  so  named? 

What  has  been  the  gain  to  civilization  in  the  white  men's 
taking  the  land  from  the  Indians? 


What  was  the  basis  of  the  French  claim  to  Illinois? 
Why  was  the  first  exploring  party  sent  out? 
Describe  their  journey.  What  record  have  we  of  it? 
Why  did  Marquette  return  to  Illinois? 

CHAPTER  IV 

Why  is  La  Salle  called  the  seventeenth-century  imperialist? 
What  difficulties  did  he  meet,  and  overcome? 
How  did  his  work  affect  American  history? 
Why  was  Fort  St.  Louis  an  important  post? 
How  did  it  get  its  present  name? 

CHAPTER  V 

What  result  did  Law's  schemes  have  for  Illinois? 

Describe  life  in  a  French  village. 

What  part  did  the  French  in  Illinois  have  in  the  colonial 
wars? 

What  are  the  dates  for  the  beginning  and  end  of  French 
rule  in  Illinois? 

239 


240  QUESTIONS 


CHAPTER  VI 

Why  was  there  a  delay  in  England's  taking  possession? 
Describe  the  arrival  of  the  Highlanders. 
How  long  did  the  British  govern  Illinois? 

CHAPTER  VII 

What  were  Clark's  qualifications  for  leading  this  expedi- 
tion? 

What  was  the  reason  for  secrecy? 

What  was  his  policy  with  the  French? 

Is  Gibault  appropriately  named  "the  patriot  priest  of  the 
northwest"  ? 

Describe  the  journey  to  Vincennes  and  its  surrender. 

Why  was  Clark's  conquest  important  in  making  the  peace 
of  1783? 

CHAPTER  VIII 

What  states  claimed  Illinois,  and  on  what  grounds? 

Name  the  important  provisions  of  the  ordinance  of  1787. 

What  was  the  fundamental  difficulty  between  the  Americans 
and  the  Indians  ? 

Name  the  governors  of  Illinois,  up  to  1818. 

What  changes  in  government  were  made  in  1800,  in  1809,  in 
1812? 

CHAPTER  IX 

Why  did  the  War  of  1812  touch  Illinois  more  closely  than 
the  previous  wars  ? 

Why  was  a  fort  built  at  the  mouth  of  the  Chicago  River? 

Describe  the  evacuation  of  Fort  Dearborn. 

How  was  the  frontier  protected,  for  the  remainder  of  the 
war? 

CHAPTER  X 

What  two  great  provisions  did  Nathaniel  Pope  make  for 
Illinois  ? 

How  did  the  northern  boundary  affect  future  history? 

What  were  the  important  features  of  the  first  state  consti- 
tution ? 

What  were  its  peculiar  features? 

What  is  the  date  for  the  admission  of  Illinois  as  a  state? 


QUESTIONS  241 


CHAPTER  XI 

Why  was  the  capital  changed  from  Kaskaskia? 

Where  did  most  of  the  settlers  live?  Why? 

Whence  did  they  come? 

What  were  their  occupations? 

Name  some  of  the  foreign  colonies  in  Illinois. 

Why  were  the  regulators  needed? 

CHAPTER  XII 

What  were  the  "black  laws"  ? 

Why  was  it  proposed  to  amend  the  constitution? 

What  were  the  necessary  steps? 

What  trick  passed  the  resolution  in  the  house? 

Who  were  the  leaders  on  each  side? 

What  was  the  result  of  the  election? 

CHAPTER  XIII 

Why  was  Lafayette  entertained  at  Kaskaskia  ? 

Describe  the  reception  and  dinner. 

Who  were  the  guests  at  the  ball? 

How  was  Lafayette  received  at  Shawneetown? 

CHAPTER  XIV 

What  were  the  effects  of  paper  money  in  Illinois? 

Can  you  account  for  the  speculation  in  land? 

Why  were  internal  improvements  urged? 

Why  was  it  necessary  to  vote  such  a  large  sum? 

How  did  Ford  meet  the  arguments  for  repudiating  the 
state's  debt? 

How  was  a  repetition  of  this  financial  trouble  made  impos- 
sible? 

CHAPTER  XV 

What  was  the  American  pretext  for  the  Black  Hawk  War? 
What  was  the  Indian  argument? 

Name  some  soldiers  in  this  war  who  became  prominent  later. 
Describe  Stillman's  Run  and  the  battle  of  the  Bad  Axe. 
What  can  you  tell  of  Black  Hawk's  life,  after  the  war? 


242  QUESTIONS 


CHAPTER  XVI 

What  was  the  "Long  Nine"  ? 
How  was  the  capitol  secured  for  Springfield? 
Describe   conditions   in   the  pioneer   Springfield.     Compare 
with  the  city  of  to-day. 
Compare  the  two  state  houses  in  Springfield. 

CHAPTER  XVII 

Why  did  Love  joy  move  to  Alton? 

For  what  was  he  contending? 

What  were  the  arguments  against  his  course? 

Tell  the  story  of  the  tragedy  at  the  warehouse. 

CHAPTER  XVIII 

Where  did  the  Mormons  live  before  they  settled  in  Illinois? 
Describe  the  building  of  the  Mormon  temple. 
How  did  the  Mormons,   who  were  nominally  a  religious 
group,  come  into  Illinois  politics? 

What  favors  did  they  receive  from  the  legislature?  Why? 
Why  were  troops  sent  against  the  Mormons? 
Tell  of  Smith's  death. 

Trace  the  journey  of  the  Mormons  to  Utah. 
How  did  Illinois  influence  their  course  there? 

CHAPTER  XIX 

In  what  battles  of  the  Mexican  War  did  Illinois  troops  take 
part? 

Tell  of  their  service  at  Buena  Vista. 
What  trophies  did  they  bring  home? 

CHAPTER  XX 

Tell  the  story  of  the  Bond-Jones  duel. 
What  law  concerning  dueling  was  adopted? 
How  did  Bond  enforce  it? 

Tell  about  Lincoln's  scrape  with  Shields,  of  Baker's  great 
speech  against  dueling,  and  of  the  challenge  to  Bissell. 


QUESTIONS  243 

CHAPTER  XXI 

How  many  years  elapsed  between  the  first  suggestion  for 
the  Illinois-Michigan  Canal  and  its  completion? 
Why  was  it  so  expensive? 
How  was  the  canal  financed? 
When  and  why  was  it  deepened? 
Who  proposed  the  Illinois  Central? 
To  whose  efforts  was  the  congressional  grant  due? 
Compare  the  financing  of  the  railroad  and  of  the  canal. 
What  were  the  results  for  the  state? 
Why  did  the  first  settlers  live  in  the  timber  country? 
Describe  Clark's  plow. 
Name  other  agricultural  improvements. 

CHAPTER  XXII 

Why  were  early  politics  in  Illinois  personal  and  not  party? 

Tell  about  the  underground  railroad  in  Illinois. 

What  changed  the  attitude  of  Illinois  people  on  the  question 
of  slavery? 

Who  made  up  the  Republican  party? 

Tell  of  Trumbull's  election  to  the  senate. 

Compare  Lincoln  and  Douglas.  What  was  the  real  issue 
between  them?  Why  were  the  debates  a  matter  of  national 
importance?  What  was  the  immediate  outcome?  The  final 
result? 

CHAPTER  XXIII 

What  was  Douglas's  attitude  when  war  was  declared  ? 

How  many  regiments  did  Illinois  send  to  the  war? 

Where  did  they  fight? 

Where  were  the  training  camps? 

Tell  of  the  great  general  Illinois  gave  to  the  nation. 

What  contribution  did  the  women  make? 

How  did  Yates  win  the  name  of  "the  soldiers'  friend"? 

Tell  of  the  efforts  of  the  copperheads  and  the  Sons  of  Liberty. 

What  songs  were  written  by  Illinois  men? 

CHAPTER  XXIV 

Compare  Lincoln's  journey  to  Washington  in  1861  with  the 
•return  in  1865. 


244  ,    QUESTIONS 

Describe  the  services  in  the  various  towns  and  in  Springfield. 
How  was  the  sum  for  the  monument  secured? 
Why  is  his  grave  a  shrine  for  all  Americans? 

CHAPTER  XXV 

To  what  was  the  early  importance  of  Chicago  due? 

Trace  the  steps  in  its  growth. 

How  did  the  great  fire  start?    Why  did  it  spread  so  rapidly? 

Tell  of  the  relief  work. 

To  what  was  attributable  the  rebuilding  of  Chicago? 

CHAPTER  XXVI 

What  was  Pope's  service  to  the  cause  of  education? 

How  were  the  early  schools  financed? 

Describe  a  pioneer  school. 

What  was  the  Duncan  law?    Why  was  it  unpopular? 

What  was  the  result  of  the  Edwards  law? 

Tell  the  story  of  the  first  college  in  Illinois. 

CHAPTER  XXVII 

What  was  the  first  state  charity? 

Why  was  a  penitentiary  needed  ? 

Why  were  the  schools  for  special  classes  of  children  opened  ? 

Who  initiated  the  work  for  the  insane? 

Tell  of  the  recent  changes  in  penitentiary  methods,  and  in 
the  administration  of  the  state  institutions. 

Name  the  various  groups  who  settled  in  Illinois.  What  did 
each  contribute? 

What  is  our  responsibility  to-day? 


NOTES 


NOTES 

CHAPTER  I 
1— 111.  Hist.  Lib.  No.  11;  pp.  .209-210. 

CHAPTER  II 

1— Parrish,  18. 

2 — Davidson  and  Stuve,  ch.  3. 
3 — Davidson  and  Stuve,  32-35. 
4— Parrish,  30-32. 

CHAPTER  III 

1 — Mason,  1. 
2— Breese,  78. 
3— Mason,  8-12. 
4— Parrish,  42^3. 

5 — 111.  Hist.  Collections,  I,  10;  and  for  the  following  quo- 
tations, pp.  17,  20-21,  23,  27  and  40. 
6— Mason,  27-29. 
7 — Mason,  32. 
8—111.  Hist.  Lib.  No.  20,  p.  110. 

CHAPTER  IV 
/ 

1 — Mason,  46. 

2— Breese,  115. 

3— Mason,  67 ;  111.  Hist.  Lib.  No.  7,  p.  183. 

4 — Brown's  History,  130,  note  4. 

5—111.  Hist.  Collections,  I,  146. 

6— Parrish,  61-64;  Mason,  112-117. 

7 — Davidson  and  Stuve,  93. 

8—111.  Hist.  Lib.  No.  11,  p.  207. 

9— Moses,  I,  66,  69. 
10— Jesuit  Relations,  63  :  305. 
11— Moses,  I,  75-76;  Parrish,  87. 
12— Mason,  187. 

247 


248  NOTES 

CHAPTER  V 

1— Breese,  160,  161. 

2— Breese,  165-168;  Davidson  and  Stuve,  115-119;  Brown's 

History,  164-168. 
3— Breese,  170. 
4 — Davidson  and  Stuve,  109. 
5 — Mason,  227. 
6— Parrish,  182 ;  Mason,  228. 
7—111.  Hist.  Lib.  No.  10,  p.  137;  Mason,  228-231. 
8 — Davidson  and  Stuve,  110. 
9— Parrish,  92. 

CHAPTER  VI 

1— Brown's  History,  196-198. 

2 — Mason,  235. 

3— Moses,  I,  135-136;  Brown's  History,  212-213. 

4— Moses,  I,  150;  Mason,  241. 

CHAPTER  VII 

1— 111.  Hist.  Collections,  I,  174. 

2—111.  Hist.  Collections,  I,  224. 

3 — Brown's  History,  230. 

4 — Davidson  and  Stuve,  199. 

5 — Thwaites,  How  George  Rogers  Clark  Won  the  North- 
west, 18,  19. 

6—111.  Hist.  Collections,  I,  197-198. 

7— Thwaites,  26. 

8— Brown's  History,  235. 

9—111.  Hist.  Collections,  I,  200. 
10—111.  Hist.  Lib.  No.  10,  p.  25. 
11—111.  Hist.  Collections,  I,  202. 
12— Thwaites,  32,  33. 
13— Thwaites,  34. 
14— Brown's  History,  246. 
15— Thwaites,  37,  38. 
16—111.  Hist.  Collections,  1, 203-204. 
17—111.  Hist.  Collections,  1, 238. 
18— Thwaites,  45-63. 
19— Mason,  256. 
20— Thwaites,  67,  68. 
21— Thwaites,  71-72 ;  Davidson  and  Stuve,  200. 


NOTES  249 


CHAPTER  VIII 

1 — Meese,  Beginnings  of  Illinois,  2,  3. 
2— Moses,  I,  187. 
3— Moses,  I,  186. 
4 — Meese,  8. 

5— Brown's  History,  275. 
6— Thwaites,  82-93. 
7— Moses,  I,  259. 

8 — Davidson  and  Stuve,  286,  287;  111.  Hist.  Soc.  Journal,  8, 
No.  4,  p.  539. 

CHAPTER  IX 

1— Gerhard,  43. 

2— Brown's  History,  278. 

3 — Brown's  History,  306. 

4— Moses,  I,  249. 

5 — Brown's  History,  310. 

6— Gerhard,  47-49. 

CHAPTER  X 

1 — Davidson  and  Stuve,  291. 

2— Brown's  History,  345. 

3 — Moses,  I,  277-279 ;  Meese,  Beginnings  of  Illinois,  13-15. 

4 — Brown's  History,  351. 

CHAPTER  XI 

1 — Davidson  and   Stuve,  915. 
2— Ford,  35. 

3 — Davidson  and  Stuve,  330. 
A — Davidson  and  Stuve,  351. 
5 — Davidson  and  Stuve,  349-350. 
6 — Gerhard,  54. 

7— Gerhard,  92-95,  122,  123 ;  Ford,  232-234. 
8— Gerhard,  69-70. 
9— Ford,  61. 
10— Ford,  32. 

CHAPTER  XII 
1— Harris,  32. 

2— Davidson  and  Stuve,  317-319. 
3— Davidson  and  Stuve,  321. 


250  NOTES 


4— Moses,  I,  323,  note. 

5_Washburne,  89-91. 

6— Ford,  53. 

7 — Davidson  and  Stuve,  326. 

8— Ford,  53-55. 

9— Flower,  210,  211. 

CHAPTER  XIII 

1 — Davidson  and  Stuve,  322. 

2_Washburne,  233,  234. 

3— Levasseur,  II,  129-130. 

4— Reynolds,  My  Own  Times,  164 ;  111.  Hist.  Lib.  No.  12,  p.  81. 

5 — Davidson  and  Stuve,  333. 

6— Levasseur,  II,  147;  111.  Hist.  Lib.  No.  10,  p.  137. 

CHAPTER  XIV 

1— Gerhard,  58. 

2— Ford,  43-46. 

3 — Davidson  and  Stuve,  367. 

4— Moses,  1, 409 ;  Ford,  184-189. 

5— Moses,  1, 434. 

6— Ford,  291-295. 

7 — Davidson  and  Stuve,  546-549. 

CHAPTER  XV 

1— Ford,  108-110. 

2— Reynolds,  My  Own  Times,  220. 

3 — Stevens,  280 ;  ed.  Rice,  Reminiscences  of  Lincoln,  464, 465. 

4 — Arnold,  34;  Nicolay,  Abraham  Lincoln,  32. 

5 — Arnold,  36. 

6— Davidson  and  Stuve,  385-388;  Patterson,  96-101,  155-158; 

Brown's  History,  361-364. 
7— Parrish,  265-269. 
8— Brown's  History,  372-376. 

CHAPTER  XVI 

1— Ford,  186-187 ;  Davidson  and  Stuve,  916-918. 

2— Davidson  and  Stuve,  918-919. 

3— Moses,  I,  431^32. 

4— Davidson  and  Stuve,  919-920. 

5 — Davidson  and  Stuve,  923. 


NOTES  251 


CHAPTER  XVII 

1 — Davidson  and  Stuve,  428, 429. 

2 — Davidson  and  Stuve,  429. 

3— Ford,  235-237. 

4-  -Moses,  1, 419.  \ 

5— Ford,  242-245. 

6— Parrish,  331-332. 

7 — Moses,  1, 420 ;  Davidson  and  Stuve,  432. 

CHAPTER  XVIII 

1 — Reynolds,  My  Own  Times,  363 ;  Moses,  I,  469-472. 

2— Ford,  259-261 ;  Davidson  and  Stuve,  495. 

3— Ford,  313  ;  Moses,  I,  474-475  ;  Brown's  History,  399. 

4 — Ford,  404;  Davidson  and  Stuve,  516. 

5 — Ford,    262-265 ;    Brown's    History,    395 ;    Davidson    and 

Stuve,  496. 

6—  Brown's  History,  386,  398. 
7— Gerhard,   100,  110;  Reynolds,  368,  370;  Ford,  268,  319- 

322,  327 ;  Davidson  and  Stuve,  501. 
8— Ford,  335-337,  352-353,  369. 
9— Ford,  410-412. 
10—111.  Hist.  Lib.  No.  20,  pp.  58,  70. 

CHAPTER  XIX 

1 — Davidson  and  Stuve,  527. 

2 — Davidson  and  Stuve,  532-536. 

3— Moses,  I,  495^96. 

4—111.  Hist.  Lib.  No.  10,  p.  213 ;  Davidson  and  Stuve,  539,  note. 

CHAPTER  XX 

1— Mason,  237. 

2— Davidson  and  Stuve,  618-619 ;  Parrish,  334,  335. 
3— Davidson  and  Stuve,  620 ;  Ford,  48,  49. 
4 — Davidson  and  Stuve,  622 ;  Parrish,  337. 
5— Herndon,  II,  231-239. 
6— Coffin,  120-121. 
7— Wallace,  58. 

8— Parrish,  343;  Moses,  II,  604,  606;  Davidson  and  Stuve, 
632. 


252  NOTES 


CHAPTER  XXI 

1— 111.  Hist.  Lib.  No.  11,  pp.  153,  154. 

2 — Moses,  I,  463-464;  Ford,  179;  Reynolds,  My  Own  Times, 

325. 

3 — Davidson  and  Stuve,  475-479. 
4— Moses,  II,  1043-1046;  Reynolds,  321-322. 
5 — Moses,  11,572-578;  Davidson  and  Stuve,  571. 
6— Moses,  II,  579. 
7 — Davidson  and  Stuve,  581-583. 
8—  Farnum,  237,  295 ;  Bateman  and  Selby,  II,  778. 
9— Bateman  and  Selby,  II,  779-780. 

CHAPTER  XXII 

1 — Davidson  and  Stuve,  635. 

2 — Chapman,  History  of  Knox  County,  203. 

3 — Davidson  and  Stuve,  637-639. 

4 — Davidson  and  Stuve,  650-654. 

5 — Davidson  and  Stuve,  689 ;  Moses,  II,  593;  Horace  White, 
Life  of  Lyman  Trumbull,  43-45. 

6— Moses,  II,  609 ;  Davidson  and  Stuve,  692-695. 

7— Coffin,  153,  154. 

8— Coffin,  165, 166. 

9— Moses,  II,  612,  613. 
10— Arnold,  147. 

11— Arnold,  142;  Davidson  and  Stuve,  709,  710. 
12— Coffin,  169. 
13— Moses,  11,615,616. 
14— Moses,  II,  619. 
15— Coffin,  175,  176. 
16 — Davidson  and  Stuve,  726. 

CHAPTER  XXIII 

1— Moses,  II,  642-644. 

2— Moses,  II,  643 ;  Davidson  and  Stuve,  870. 
3 — Moses,  II,  639 ;  Davidson  and  Stuve,  736. 
4— Moses,  II,  701,  734. 

5— Moses,  II,  648 ;  Davidson  and  Stuve,  744-745. 
6— Moses,  II,  646-647. 

7— Moses,  II,  755-757 ;  Davidson  and  Stuve,  741-742. 
8— Moses,  II,  691-699. 

9— Moses,  II,  681,  683, 684 ;  Davidson  and  Stuve,  878, 897. 
10— Moses,  II,  760-761. 


NOTES  253 

CHAPTER  XXIV 

1— Arnold,  435. 

2— Moses,  II,  724. 

3 — Stephen  Wise,  Lincoln,  Ma*"  and  American,  66. 

CHAPTER  XXV 

1 — Colbert  and  Chamberlin,  17, 18. 
2 — Davidson  and  Stuve,  486,  note. 
3 — Colbert  and  Chamberlin,  27-30. 
4 — Colbert  and  Chamoerlin,  49-51. 
5 — Colbert  and  Chamberlin,  107. 

6 — Colbert  and  Chamberlin,  201-205  ;  Davidson  and  Stuve,  939. 
7 — Davidson  and  Stuve,  940. 
8— Colbert  and  Chamberlin,  230-233. 
9— Moses,  II,  805. 
10— Moses,  II,  940. 

CHAPTER  XXVI 

1— Moses,  II,  988,  989 ;  Davidson  and  Stuve,  609. 

2— Ford,  59,  60 ;  Davidson  and  Stuve,  610. 

3— Cook,  59 ;  Moses,  II,  993. 

4— Cook,  60-65 ;  Bateman  and  Selby,  II,  791-793. 

5— Moses,  II,  994;  Ford,  58,  59. 

6 — Davidson  and  Stuve,  611,  612. 

7— Cook,  44,  45 ;  Moses,  II,  995. 

8— Davidson  and  Stuve,  609-612. 

9— Bateman  and  Selby,  11,796;  Moses,  II,  998,  999. 
10—111.  Hist.  Lib.  No.  12,  p.  145. 
11 — Moses,  I,  393;  Reynolds,  My  Own  Times,  125. 

CHAPTER  XXVII 

1— Moses,  II,  1013. 

2— Moses,  II,  1013 ;  Davidson  and  Stuve,  924-926. 

3— Moses,  II,  1015-1019. 

EPILOGUE 

1— Moses,  I,  161,  162 ;  Mason,  264-266. 

2— Parrish,  144-149 ;  111.  Hist.  Lib.  No.  7,  p.  148. 

3— Parrish,  125-126. 

4—111.  Hist.  Lib.  No.  8,  p.  97. 


254  NOTES 


5— Parrish,  185. 

6— Parrish,   248-251;    Patterson,   46-48;    Meese,   Battle    of 
Campbell's  Island. 

7 — Matson,  Memories  of  Shabona. 

8 — Matheny,  The  Modern  Knight-Errant. 

9 — Reynolds,  Pioneer  History,  appendix. 
10—111.  Hist.  Lib.  No.  10,  p.  135. 
11—111.  Hist.  Lib.  No.  12,  p.  145 ;  Moses,  1, 321. 
12—111.  Hist.  Lib.  No.  8,  p.  275. 
13—111.  Hist.  Lib.  No.  12,  p.  64. 
14— Moses,  I,  289,  290. 
15—111.  Hist.  Lib.  No.  8,  p.  38. 
16—111.  Hist.  Lib.  No.  7,  p.  101 ;  Parrish,  347-353. 
17— Mason,  293-311. 
18— Parrish,  162-173. 
19— Moses,  II,  700. 

20— Shaw;  Reynolds,  My  Own  Times,  371-376;  111.  Hist.  Lib. 
No,  11,  p.  103. 


MAPS 


MAPS 


Do  you  like  to  make  maps?  There  are  such  interesting 
ones  to  do  for  the  story  of  Illinois. 

First,  on  a  map  of  the  United  States,  color  Illinois  solid 
and  trace  in  colors  the  waterways  connecting  it  with  Canada 
and  Virginia  and  New  Orleans.  See  what  an  important  place 
Illinois  has  in  the  geography  of  the  nation. 

Trace  on  a  map  which  shows  the  Great  Lakes  and  the 
Mississippi  Valley  the  route  of  Marquette  and  Joliet,  from 
Wisconsin  to  Arkansas  and  their  return.  Mark  the  mission 
station  whence  they  started,  the  portage,  Piasa,  and  the  two 
Kaskaskias. 

.  Trace  on  a  similar  map  the  journeys  of  La  Salle  and  Tonty. 
Mark  Fort  Crevecoeur  and  Fort  St.  Louis.  The  frontispiece 
of  Parkman's  La  Salle  and  the  Discovery  of  the  Great  West 
will  help  you.  On  anothef  map  indicate  all  the  French  forts 
in  America  (look  at  page  37  of  Thwaites's  France  in  Amer- 
ica). You  will  want  to  make  a  distinctive  mark  for  the  six 
posts  built  by  La  Salle — Frontenac,  Conti,  Miami,  Crevecoeur, 
Prudhomme  and  St.  Louis. 

Make  a  map  showing  Clark's  route  from  Pittsburgh  to 
Kaskaskia,  and  then  to  Vincennes.  You  will  find  an  ex- 
cellent sketch  in  Thwaites's  How  George  Rogers  Clark  Won 
the  Northwest,  facing  page  26. 

Do  a  series  of  sketch  maps  showing  the  various  changes 
in  the  territory  of  which  Illinois  was  a  part — the  entire 
Northwest  Territory,  the  change  made  in  1800,  and  the  sep- 
aration from  Indiana  in  1809  (see  pages  79,  83  and  92  in 
Thwaites's  How  George  Rogers  Clark  Won  the  Northwest). 
And  last  but  not  least  a  map  showing  the  northern  boundary 
change.  Facing  page  118  in  Jones's  Decisive  Dates  in  Illinois 
History  is  a  map  showing  Pope's  line;  but  continue  your 
map  to  the  east,  showing  the  extreme  southern  end  of  Lake 
Michigan,  and  extend  the  dotted  line  to  meet  it.  Sketch  in 
the  boundary  lines  of  the  fourteen  northern  counties. 

Make  a  population  map  for  Illinois  in  1812,  like  the  one 
on  page  59  of  Buck's  Illinois  in  1818. 

Make  a  map  showing  all  the  internal  improvements  sug- 
gested, like  the  one  facing  page  410  in  volume  one  of  Moses" 
Illinois  Historical  and  Statistical.  Draw  the  canal  very  dis- 
tinctly. 

257 


INDEX 


INDEX 


Abolitionists,  130,  132,  170. 
Admission  to  Union,  73,  74. 
Agriculture,  3,  165,  167,  168,  223. 
Albion,  78,  83. 

Alton,  120,  127-30,  132,  170,  192,  193,  224. 
Alton  Observer,  128-30. 
Anderson,  Robert,  113. 
Armstrong,  Fort,  230. 

Bad  Axe,  battle,  115,  116. 

Baker,  Edward  D.,  112,  123,  155,  231. 

Berkeley,  Governor,  214. 

Birkbeck,  Morris,  78,  89-92. 

Bishop  Hill  Colony,  231. 

Bissell,  Colonel,  155,  156,  230. 

Black  Hawk,  66,  110,  111,  114-9,  203,  231. 

Black  Hawk  War,  77,  110-8. 

Black  laws,  84-6. 

Black  Partridge,  67,  69. 

Blennerhasset,  230. 

Bond,  Shadrach,  98,  149-51,  158,  223. 

Boundary,  northern,  71. 

Breese,  Sidney,  15,  162. 

Buena  Vista,  battle,  146,  147,  155. 

Burr,  Aaron,  230. 

Cabet,  Etienne,  231. 

Cahokia,  46. 

Cahokia  Indians,  5. 

Calumet,  12,  21. 

Campbell's  Island,  battle,  231. 

Camp  Butler,  191. 

Camp  Douglas,  191. 

Canal,  Illinois-Michigan,  157-61,  203-5. 

Capital  moved  to  Springfield,  106,  120,  121. 

Cartright,  Peter,  83. 

Cerre,  Jean  Gabriel,  231. 

Cerro  Gordo,  146,  148. 

261 


262  INDEX 

Chartres,  Fort,  27,  30-2,  34,  35,  149. 

Chicago,  13,  14,  72,  164,  167,  171,  202-5,  228. 

Chicago  fire,  205-13. 

Churches,  83,  89,  187,  222. 

Clark,  George  Rogers,  37-56,  226,  227. 

Clark,  Oramel,  165-7. 

Clark,  William,  53. 

Clay,  Henry,  60. 

Coal,  2,  223. 

Coles,  Edward,  78,  86-9,  92-5,  98,  109. 

Company  of  the  West,  27. 

Congressional  grants  of  land,  158,  159,  162-4,  224. 

Constitution  of  1818,  72,  73. 

Constitution  of  1848,  108. 

Constitution  of  1870,  109. 

Cook,  Daniel  Pope,  158,  203. 

Copperheads,  196. 

Coureurs  de  bois,  26. 

Courts,  early,  58,  80,  82,  83. 

Crevecceur,  Fort,  17,  18,  20,  21. 

Crozat,  Antoine,  27. 

Cullom,  Shelby  M.,  144. 

D'Artaguette,  32,  231. 

Davis,  Jefferson,  113,  117,  155,  156,  230. 

Dearborn,  Fort,  64,  65,  202. 

Dearborn,  Fort,  massacre,  66-8. 

Democratic  party,  169,  171,  197. 

Detroit,  37,  53,  64,  68. 

Dix,  Dorothea  L.,  225. 

Dixon's  Ferry,  113,  114. 

Douglas,  Stephen  A.,  125,  162,  171-85,  188. 

Dred  Scott  decision,  174,  182,  185. 

Dueling,  149-56. 

Duncan,  Joseph,  217,  218. 

Dutch  Hollow,  78. 

Edgar,  General,  96,  231. 

Educational  association,  218,  219. 

Edwards,  Ninian,  60,  81,  82,  150,  158,  233. 

Edwards,  Ninian  W.,  219,  220. 

Egypt,  78. 

Election  of  1824,  92,   169. 

Election  of  1860,  183,  184. 

English  colony,  78,  83,  137. 


INDEX  263 


Fever  River,  231. 

Flower,  George,  78,  83. 

Ford,  Thomas,  88,  108,  109,  139-42,  217,  218. 

Franklin,  Benjamin,  54. 

Freeman,  Jonathan,  90-2. 

Free  Soil  party,  171,  172. 

Friends  of  freedom,  88,  89. 

Frontenac,  Fort,  16,  19. 

Fuller,  Adjutant-General,  191. 

Gage,  Fort,  35,  43. 

Gage,  Thomas,  35. 

Galesburg,  171, 

German  colony,  78. 

Gibault,  Pierre,  44,  48,  49. 

Grammar,  John,  80,  81. 

Grant,  U.  S.,  190,  193,  194,  199,  201. 

Grenfell,  St.  Leger,  231. 

Griffin,  16,  18,  20. 

Hamilton,  General,  37,  38,  49-52. 

Hamilton,  William  Stephen,  95. 

Harrison,  William  Henry,  60,  63,  64,  68,  110. 

Heald,  Captain,  65-7. 

Helm,  Captain,  50. 

Hennepin,  Father,  17-9. 

Henry,  Patrick,  39,  46,  52,  232. 

Hull,  General,  64,  65. 

Icarians,  231,  232. 

Illini,  5. 

Illinois  Central  Railroad,  72,  162-4,  168,  205. 

Illinois  College,  222. 

Illinois  County,  52. 

Illinois  federation,  5-7. 

Illinois-Michigan  Canal,  72,  120,  157-61,  203-5. 

Illinois  River,  13,  157,  158,  161. 

Illinois  territory,  60-2. 

Immigrants,  77,  78,  167,  226-8. 

Indentured  servants,  84. 

Indiana  territory,  60. 

Indians,  5-7,  97,  98. 

Insane,  hospitals  for,  225,  226. 

Internal  improvements,   105-7,  159. 

Iroquois  Indians,  6,  17,  20-3. 


264  INDEX 

Jackson,  Andrew,  117. 

Jacksonville,  171,  222,  225. 

Jay,  John,  54. 

Jefferson,  Thomas,  39,  53. 

Jesuits,  10,  31. 

Joliet,  Louis,  8-14,  157,  232. 

Jones,  Rice,  149,  150. 

Kansas-Nebraska  Bill,  171-3,  182. 

Kaskaskia,  14,  27,  35,  37,  40-3,  48-50,  52,  61,  72,  75,  76,  95. 

Kaskaskia  Indians,  5. 

Kidnapping,  85,  86. 

Kinzie,  John,  202. 

Kinzie,  Mrs.,  69. 

Lafayette,  93-101. 

Lafayette,  George  Washington,  97. 

La  Salle,  6,  16^5,  38,  157,  202. 

Latter-Day  Saints,   134. 

Law,  John,  27,  28,  108. 

Laws  of  Illinois  territory,  61,  62. 

Lebanon,  222. 

Lecompton  constitution,  173,  174. 

Levasseur,  A.,  94-8,  101. 

Lewis,   Meriwether,  53. 

Lieutenant-governorship,  73. 

Lincoln,  Abraham,  72,  112,  113,  121-5,  152-5,  172-88,  199-201, 

229. 

Logan,  John  A.,  191. 
Logan,  Judge,  173. 
Long  Knives,  43,  46,  47. 
Long  Nine,  120,  121. 
Louisiana,  22,  27,  29,  30. 
Lovejoy,  Elijah  P.,  127-33,  170. 

McKendree  College,  222. 

Manufacturing,  205,  223. 

Maramech,  230. 

Marquette,  Jacques,  8-16,  202. 

Massac,  Fort,  29,  41,  231. 

Meat  packing,  204,  223. 

Menard,  Pierre,  73,  103,  104,  231. 

Mexican  War,  145-8. 

Michigamie  Indians,  5. 

Mines,  2,  72,  223,  231. 


INDEX  265 


Mississippi  River,  2,  4,  11-3,  16,  21,  22,  32. 

Missouri  compromise,  85,   172,  180. 

Missouri  River,  12. 

Money,  79,  102. 

Mormons,  134-44,  231. 

Mormon  temple,  135,  136,  143,  232. 

Mound  builders,  4,  5. 

Nauvoo,  135,  231. 
Necessity,  Fort,  30. 
New  Orleans,  27,  28,  35,  91. 
Niagara,  Fort,  29,  30. 
Normal  schools,  220. 
Northern  boundary,  71. 
Northwest  territory,  57,  58,  70. 

Oglesby,  Richard,  190,  201. 
O'Leary,  Mrs.,  206. 
Ordinance   of    1787,   57,   58,   84,   214. 
Ottawa,  17,  171. 

Palmer,  John  M.,  190. 

Paper  money,  102-4. 

Peck,  John  Mason,  83,  89,  187,  218,  221,  222,  231. 

Penitentiaries,  224,  225. 

Peoria,  77,  124,  125,  232. 

Peoria  Indians,  5. 

Piasa  bird,  12. 

Point  au  Sable,  Jean  Baptiste,  202. 

Polygamy,  139,  144. 

Pontiac,  24,  33,  34,  118. 

Pope,  Nathaniel,  60,  70-2,  75,  203,  214,  220,  223. 

Population  of  Chicago,  203-5. 

Population  of  Illinois,  77. 

Prairie  plow,  164-7. 

Prairies,  3,  83,  165. 

Pulaski,  233. 

Quincy,  129,  171. 

Railroads,  105-7,  159,  161-4,  168. 
Rangers,  68,  113,  230. 
Rector,  Stephen,  231. 
Regiments  in  Civil  War,  188-91. 
Regiments  in  Mexican  War,  145,  148. 


266  INDEX 

Regulators,  79,  80. 
Republican  party,  72,  172,  173. 
Repudiation,  108,  109. 
Reynolds,  John,  80,  111,  112. 
Riot  at  Alton,  130-3. 
Rocheblave,  43,  46. 
Rock  Spring  Seminary,  221,  222. 
Root,  George  F.,  197,  198. 

St.  Clair,  Arthur    58,  232. 

St.  Louis  du  Rocher,  Fort,  23. 

Sacs  and  Fox  Indians,  110. 

Sangamon  County,  77,   120-2. 

Santa  Anna,  146-8,  232. 

Saukenuk,  111. 

School  lands,  214,  215. 

Schools,  71,  215-8. 

Schools  for  blind,  for  deaf  and  dumb,  225. 

Scott,  Winfield,  114,  148,  203,  204. 

Secession,  184-7. 

Shabona,  231. 

Shawneetown,  99-101. 

Sheridan,  Philip,  210. 

Shields,  James,  152-5. 

Shurtleff  College,  222. 

Slave  code,  84,  85. 

Slavery,  58,  72,  84-92,  109,  127-9,  133,  170,  171,  173-5,  179-82, 

Smith,  Joseph,  134-41,  143,  144. 

Sons  of  Liberty,  196. 

Spaniards,  4,  13,  24,  39,  48,  231. 

Speculation  in  land,  102,  104,  105,  204. 

Springfield,  120-3. 

Squatter  sovereignty,  172. 

Starved  Rock,  2,  23,  24. 

State  bank,  103,  104,  107,  108,  152. 

State  houses  in  Springfield,  123-6. 

State  house  in  Vandalia,  76. 

State  institutions,  224-6. 

Stillman's  Run,  113-5. 

Stokes,  Captain,  192,  193. 

Swiss  colony,  78. 


INDEX  267 


Tamaroa  Indians,  5. 
Taylor,  Zachary,  112,  146-8. 
Tecumseh,  63,  64,  110,  118. 
Territorial  legislature,  61. 
Todd,  John,  52,  53,  230. 
Tonty  Henri,  2,  17-25,  202. 
Trumbull,  Lyman,  173. 

Underground  railroad,  170,  171. 
Union,  admission  to,  70,  73,  74. 
University  of  Illinois,  221. 

Vandalia,  76,  77,  87,  88,  120. 
Vigo,  Francis,  51,  231. 
Vincennes,  29,  37,  48-52,  60. 
Voyageurs,  26. 

War  of  1812,  63-70,  77. 
Washington,  George,  29,  30,  37. 
Waterways,  1,  2,  161. 
Wayne,  Anthony,  59,  63,  77. 
Webster,  Daniel,  57. 
Whigs,  169,  172. 

/ 

Yankees,  78,  83,  227. 

Yates,  Richard,  189,  191,  193-6. 

Zane,  144. 


